Shona's Book Shelf

I am Moving !!!

2009-10-23T14:45:00.004+05:30

Ever since I started blogging again ,I have been facing many glitches with Blogger , so I thought of moving to Wordpress and surprisingly it didn't take much time or effort . Hope it goes smoothly over there. Please update ur blog roll or bookmarks..

Hope to see you at Shona's Book Shelves . (http://shonasbookshelves.wordpress.com)

The Goose Girl (The Books Of Bayern 1)

2009-10-22T17:09:00.006+05:30

Book : Goose Girl (Books Of Bayern 1)
Author : Shannon Hale
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Category: Young Adult , Fantasy
My Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis (From Good Reads):

She was born with her eyes closed and a word on her tongue, a word she could not taste.

is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to assist her. Becoming a goose girl for the king, Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life under her aunt's guidance learning to communicate with animals. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting leads a mutiny during Ani's journey to be married in a foreign land, AniAni eventually uses her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her true destiny.

From the Grimm’s fairy tale of the princess who became a goose girl before she could become queen, Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original, and magical tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can lead the people she has made her own.

Review:
Fairy tales are for little girls. Right? Not always. Sometimes , adults like me happen to take up these stories and thoroughly enjoy them. Shannon Hale's take on Grimm's Goose Girl makes a delightful read.We all know the Goose Girl story but here it's presented in a more believable way with realistic touches to turn of events.

Ani's development from a quite child to girl who knows her mind and does what is right is one of the best character development I have seen. It took me a while to get in to the story and also to understand Ani but the tightly woven plot kept me gripped.

A talent of animal speech is not a requirement for the post of a queen . It's is something you would rather not have. But Ani can't help it as she is gifted with it. It is this gift of hers that keep her away from her rightful authority over the throne and makes her politically very intelligent mother to send her off as the bride to crown prince of Bayern. Little does Ani know the journey she is embarking on is the one that will bring her face to face with some of the best and worst kind of people and in the process moulding her in to a person , her mother would have wanted to have as a queen.

Affection, love , friendship, betrayal and loyalty are well sown in to the book which made me want to finish it in one sitting. While reading it I was wanting good things for Ani, wanting her to have a life she so much deserves , feeling how long will it be until justice is done. Such is the impact of the book that you get totally involved in it.

This was my first Shannon Hale book and I know it won't be the last as I have Enna Burning waiting on my book shelf.

Cover Attractions

2009-10-21T11:46:00.005+05:30

This fun meme is hosted by Marcia.

Here are my cover attractions for the week.

Synopsis:

Haunted by an ancestor’s tale of near death on a distant battlefield, James Carl Nelson set out in pursuit of the scraps of memory of his grandfather’s small infantry unit. Years of travel across the world led to the retrieval of unpublished personal papers, obscure memoirs, and communications from numerous Doughboys as well as original interviews of the descendents of his grandfather’s comrades in arms. The result is a compelling tale of battle rooted in new primary sources, and one man’s search for his grandfather’s legacy in a horrifying maelstrom that is today poorly understood and nearly forgotten.

The Remains of Company D follows the members of Company D, 28th Infantry Regiment, United States First Division, from enlistment to combat to the effort to recover their remains, focusing on the three major battles at Cantigny, Soissons, and in the Meuse-Argonne and the effect these horrific battles had on the men.

This is an important and powerful tale of the different destinies, personalities, and motivations of the men in Company D and a timeless portrayal of men at war.

Synopsis:

What really happened to Anastasia Romanov?

Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't. Instead, two gnarled old hands reached for her. When she wakes up she discovers that she is in the ancient hut of the witch Baba Yaga, and that some things are worse than being dead.

In modern-day Chicago, Anne doesn't know much about Russian history. She is more concerned about getting into a good college—until the dreams start. She is somewhere else. She is someone else. And she is sharing a small room with a very old woman. The vivid dreams startle her, but not until a handsome stranger offers to explain them does she realize her life is going to change forever. She is the only one who can save Anastasia. But, Anastasia is having her own dreams...

These are my favorites for the week..Do tell yours ...

2 States -The Story Of My Marriage

2009-10-20T11:10:00.005+05:30

Book : 2 States- The Story Of My Marriage
Author : Chetan Bhagat
Publisher : Rupa & Co.
ISBN:8129115301
ISBN-13:9788129115300 ,978-8129115300

Synopsis :

Love marriages around the world are simple:

Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy.
They get married.

In India, there are a few more steps:

Boy loves Girl. Girl loves Boy.
Girl's family has to love boy. Boy's family has to love girl.
Girl's Family has to love Boy's Family. Boy's family has to love girl's family.
Girl and Boy still love each other. They get married.

Welcome to 2 States, a story about Krish and Ananya. They are from two different states of India, deeply in love and want to get married. Of course, their parents don’t agree. To convert their love story into a love marriage, the couple have a tough battle in front of them. For it is easy to fight and rebel, but it is much harder to convince. Will they make it? From the author of blockbusters Five Point Someone, One Night @ the Call Center and The 3 Mistakes of My Life, comes another witty tale about inter-community marriages in modern india.

Review :

I have been a Chetan Bhagat fan ever since I had randomly picked up Five Point Someone authored by him at a book exhibition. It might not have been a modern day classic but it got me hooked to this new age Indian writer whose works have sincerity and simplicity which goes straight to the heart. One Night At The Call Center and The Three Mistakes Of My Life were read my me within a week of their release , so I just couldn't resist getting hold of 2 States upon its arrival at my local book store. I must say I wasn't disappointed.

Krish and Ananya , the protagonists are so much like thousands of other modern Indian couples who find out that convincing their respective parents for an inter caste marriage is a much tougher job than cracking an IIT entrance or getting admission into top management institute.
The best of the book is Krish 's interaction with his would be in laws . His frustration ,disappointment has been presented in a very honest manner and that's praise worthy.

Chetan Bhagat has put in right amount of masala(spices), to keep the readers hooked on to it. The plot looks cinematic sometimes but by experience 75 % of people know that these kind of situations do arise in India. Modern India is yet to warm up towards inter caste inter state marriages and this is portrayed wonderfully in the book. A laugh riot at places and a few really emotional moments make it a great read.

I know I am praising this book too highly and some of them might just call it a run of the mill love story but the point is that, the way it is presented is really really good. It reminded me of some incidents that happened in my family when my cousin , a Maharashtrian got married to a Punjabi. For the record it took 1 and half year to convince both the set of parents :) and another 5 months for deciding on the marriage rituals :)

If you get a chance to read this book do not miss out.

Upcoming reviews

2009-10-19T18:22:00.005+05:30

During my hiatus I was able to read some really good books which I hope to review soon. Books I read were.
The Adoration Of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson

2 States- The Story Of My Marriage by Chetan Bhagat

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott

Reviews coming soon..:)

I am back !!!!

2009-10-19T18:14:00.004+05:30

I am back after a long long hiatus. Reason for this break was that I was caught up in a project that took away most of my time and also had a horrid case of allergic bronchitis lasting a few months which made me totally negligent towards this blog.

Now , I want to get back to reading , blogging and commenting which I missed so much over these few months.I have missed out reading for all those challenges I signed up for . I wanna start fresh now and have a few very interesting books lined up..

Friday Finds- July 10

2009-07-10T10:54:00.011+05:30

MizB at Should Be Reading hosts this fun meme. So what are your picks this week? Did you find any book that you would want to add to your TBR? If yes , then join in ..

From The Book Cover :

She has a gift of unspeakable power. . . . He must control her or destroy her. . . . For as long as she can remember, successful young physician Megan Blair has tried to silence the voices in her head---voices that bring her to the edge of madness and terror. Megan possesses psychic powers that have been dormant for years, hidden deep in the past she's tried so desperately to forget. But now everything has come to a boiling point---someone is trying to kill her, and others are trying to use her, including the deadly and seductive Neal Grady. Shocking secrets about her life and her mother's death bombard her as she fights to take control of her heritage and save herself and everything she believes in. Grady holds the key to understanding her future, a future in which Megan's life will never be the same. If she survives to have a future. A fast-paced thrill ride, Pandora's Daughter is Iris Johansen as you've never read her before.

From The Book Cover :
On a blazing hot day in late August 1914, twelve year old Mattie dances in the stream, spraying her little sister Evie with silvery showers of water. They have come here to cool off and to pick watercress for tea. They are unaware that their idyllic childhood in Suffolk is almost at an end, for as their mother says, 'all the world's gone mad...' The girls will grow up to lead very different lives. Mattie is destined to travel far from home and to found a dynasty of strong-minded women like herself. Evie, in the role of family carer, still achieves a satisfying career. But will the two sisters be reunited and a secret resolved?

From The Book Cover :

Do fairytale dresses bring fairytale endings? Every dress has a history, so does Phoebe! Phoebe always dreamt of opening her own vintage dress shop. She imagined every detail, from the Vivienne Westwood bustiers hanging next to satin gowns, to sequined cupcake dresses adorning the walls. At the launch of Village Vintage, Phoebe feels the tingle of excitement as customers snap up the fairytale dresses. Her dream has come true, but a secret from her past is casting a shadow over her new venture. Then one day she meets Therese, an elderly Frenchwoman with a collection to sell, apart from one piece that she won't part with ! As Therese tells the story of the little blue coat, Phoebe feels a profound connection with her own life, one that will help her heal the pain of her past and allow her to love again.

These were my finds for the week. Tell me yours?

Kreativ Blogger Award !!!!

2009-07-10T09:27:00.007+05:30

My very first award was sent to me by Natalie at the Book Inn .Thank you so much Natalie. To accept this award I will have to list my 7 favorite things and pass on this award to my 7 favorite bloggers.

My 7 favorite things

Spending time with my family

Reading books with a cup of hot coffee by my side

Ice Cream

Fiddling on my laptop

Visits to the bookstore

Chatting with my best friend

Watching old movies

I would want to pass on this award to 7 of my fav bloggers (I think they haven't received this award lately)

Uniquely Priya

One Swede Read

Library Queue

Giving... Reading -A Chance

Redlady's Reading Room

Peek-a-Boo(k)

One Person's Journey Through A World of Books

Review :Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist

2009-07-09T23:24:00.001+05:30

Author: Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Publisher: Random House Childrens Books
Pub. Date: August 2007
ISBN-13: 9780375835339
200pages
My Rating : 4 out of 5

Book available at Flipkart , Amazon, Indiebound

From The Book Cover:

It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who’s just walked in to his band’s show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City—and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.

This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be—and where the next great band is playing.

My views:

Its been days since I read something romantically funny and I realised I had made the right choice within 5 minutes of starting this book. If you love music and you love romance, you will not leave this book till your done.

Nick and Norah take turns telling the events that bring them together.Nick has been recently dumped by his girlfriend Tris. He hasn't been able to get over her even though it's more than 3 weeks now. Norah hasn't seen her 'The Ex' boyfriend Tal since he left for a kibbutz in south Africa dumping her for not being what he wants. She hasn't got over him .

So what happens when Nick and Norah meet ? Fireworks.. A kiss that is meant to cause jealousy in Nick's Ex turns out to be the beginning of a new bond. Both the characters are well written and the style of writing is so similar that we never once realise that it's written by two people. What I loved the most are the music references in the book .

Another good point is the development of minor characters of the story.Tris (Nick's Ex ), Dev( Nick's Band's lead singer ) are two characters to watch out for. Though the story takes place in the span of one night , all minor characters are sketched in a detailed manner. It's important because through them we are able to understand Nick and Norah better.

It's funny , witty and lovable . It's a really refreshing read. Go for it..

Point to be noted : It's reading age group is 15 years and above . Let me warn you that it has it's share of mature content , sexual references. If you don't care about that ,then go ahead what are you waiting for!!

My Favorite Reads

2009-07-09T01:01:00.005+05:30

Alyce from At Home With Books hosts My Favorite Reads every Thursday where you showcase a book , read long time back ,enjoyed it but haven't blogged about.

My choice for this week is Jewels by Danielle Steel

From the book jacket :
On Sarah Whitfield's seventy-fifth birthday, memories take her back to New York in the 1930s. To a marriage that ends after a year, leaving Sarah shattered. A trip to Europe with her parents does little to raise her spirits, until she meets William, Duke of Whitfield. In time, despite her qualms, William insists on giving up his distant right to the British throne to make Sarah his duchess and his wife.

On their honeymoon, the newlyweds buy an old French chateau, but not long after, the war begins. William joins the allied forces, leaving Sarah, their first child, an infant, and their second child on the way, in France. After the Nazi forces take over the chateau, Sarah continues to survive the terror and deprivation of the Occupation, unwavering in her belief that her missing-in-action husband is still alive.

After the war, as a gesture of goodwill, the Whitfields start buying jewels offered for sale by impoverished war survivors. With Sarah's style and keen eye, the collection becomes the prestigious Whitfield's jewelry store in Paris. Eventually, their jewelry business expands to London and Rome, as their family grows. Phillip, their firstborn, is stubborn and proud; Julian, their second son, is charming and generous and warm; Isabelle is rebellious and willful; and Xavier, unusual and untamed, is the final unexpected gift of their love. They each find their own way, but will be drawn to the great house of gems their parents built.

In Jewels, Danielle Steel takes the reader through five eventful decades that include war, passion, international intrigue, and the strength of family through it all.

My Views :

I know many people have stopped reading her books as the storyline has become quite repetitive but I chose this book as it somewhat different from what she has been writing recently.Also because this book got me started on reading trail of nearly 60 Danielle Steel books which take up a place of pride on my book shelf. Who doesn't like romances and when you need so light, refreshing read , these books are the best medicine.

You will love Sarah Whitfield for her innocence initially and for her strength and determination in the later part of the book. Even though it's a romance it is a page turner all through. Perfect book for leisurely reading.

Percy Jackson And The Olympians :The Sea Of Monsters

2009-07-08T20:45:00.006+05:30

Book : Sea Of Monsters (Percy Jackson And The Olympians )
Author : Rick Riordan
Publisher: Hyperion/Miramax Kid
Pub. Date: April 2006
ISBN-13: 9780786856862
Pages :288
My Rating :4 out of 5

Book available at : Flipkart , Amazon, Indiebound

From the book cover :

After a year spent trying to prevent a catastropic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson finds his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson—a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any "normal" friends.

But things don't stay quiet for long. Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: The magical borders which protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner by the Cyclops Polyphemus on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters—the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millenia—only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name...the Bermuda Triangle.

Now Percy and his friends—Grover, Annabeth, and Tyson—must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes by the end of the summer or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family—one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.

My views:

The first book was good .It got me intrested in Greek mythology and also made me eager to read the second one. The second book definitely lives up to the expectations. It has our hero Percy Jackson along with his friend Annabeth Chase and a new companion Tyson going on a quest to find the Golden Fleece and also rescue his friend Grover who is communicating with him through his dreams and seeking his help. The monsters are there and so are the gods , and we also get to meet various other mythical creatures who help them in thier quest. Also Percy has a very important lesson to learn in matters of his family (Being the son of an immoratal being he has a very big extended family ).

Rick Riordan's writing style has finally sunk in for me. For the first book I had a feeling of it being a bit ragged at places but I had no complaints with this book. It made a good read. The characters are developed well and the mystery surrounding prophecy involving Percy is well highlighted. Will have to watch out for it's development in the next book.I also realised the author had left hints in the first book which I hadn't noticed ,those which were important in reading this book. Over all, this book makes you want to pick up the third book as soon as you are done with this one. That's a good thing because author has created an atmosphere in such a way that it's too hard to resist .

The reading level might be for young adults but that musn't stop you from picking up this book . I have already started the third one. I just couldn't resist :)

It's Monday : What are you reading ?

2009-07-06T19:44:00.005+05:30

It's monday and J.Kaye hosts this fun meme where we get to list out the books read last week and books to be read this week.To find out what other bloggers are up to, head over to J. Kaye's..

Books read last week :

Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

My Life In France by Julia Child and Alex Prud' homme

The Book Of Fate by Brad Meltzer

Percy Jackson And The Olympians : The Lightnening Thief by Rick Riordan

Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Books To Be read this week:

Percy Jackson And The Olympians: The Sea Of Monsters( Which I am half way through )

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (Just started)

Silas Marner by George Eliot (somewhere close to the end)

Visions In White [Bride Quartet 1 ] by Nora Roberts

I am on leave from work due to bad cold , thanks to incessant rains . I now have lots of time to read. Guess I will finally finish some challenges.

Review: Percy Jackson And The Olympians : The Lightning Thief

2009-07-06T19:30:00.005+05:30

Book: Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief
Author: Rick Riordan
ISBN:0141319135
ISBN-13:9780141319131,978-0141319131
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
My Rating : 4 out of 5

Book Available at : Flipkart , Amazon, Indiebound

Harry Potter fans have always wondered if they could ever love any other series as they loved HP . The answer to that is NO. Harry Potter is something you cannot replace, it was special. It will always hold that dear place in the reader's mind but that doesn't mean you cannot enjoy other fantasy series . My sister absolutely refused to read other books for a few days once she read the last book and realised that Harry Potter is never gonna make a come back but that was until she found Percy Jackson :)

Percy Jackson And The Olympian series is about Percy , a half blood ( heard term before ? ), a semi/demi god , who gets to know that his father is one of the Olympian gods. As if that info wasn't shocking enough, he comes to know that his life is in danger from monsters who come sniffing for him.Percy is hurriedly taken to a summer camp, Camp Half Blood at Long Island, where half blood kids of various gods learn archery, Greek , sword fighting etc etc.A training camp for heroes. Percy who has been expelled from every school he has ever joined ,due to his ADHD and some really weird happenings ,finally realises he belongs here because all this comes naturally to him. While he discover which of the gods is his father , he also has to face his fate which has decided that he has a quest to undertake . Along with his friends Annabeth and Grover he sets forth to meet what destiny has en stored for him .

Book has a great deal of mythology which makes the reading fun and informative more so for kids . Legends are interwoven in present scenario with finesse. It's the first one in the series and it does make you want to read the rest of them. There are places in the book where the narrative is jagged and you feel lost but the storyline makes up for that.The plot about prophecies and a powerful villain who is plotting to rise to power does give a sense of de javu but that's where the similarities end. The book does stand apart in a league of it's own. It's more of bravery than magic.

Review : My Life In France

2009-07-06T19:20:00.004+05:30

My knowledge of cooking is bare minimum. I am not ashamed of admitting that, ok fine a little bit ashamed but I never got a chance to learn. With occasional pasta , instant noodles and soups that I used to make in my hostel at the medical college , I am totally clueless about cooking. Mom doesn't allow me in the kitchen , so by Indian standards I am totally lacking in one skill that every girl my age should have acquired. But since I read this book , I have started taking lessons from mom. Small step but I have finally begun.

Coming to the book. Just as it was about cooking , my knowledge about cooks wasn't good either. I frequently came across the phrases like 'You can be called a great cook only when you can cook like Julia Child' when my friends talked about cooking (which they do so very frequently),I would be the only person in the group asking , who is that? I was so ignorant , that during these discussions I was totally ignored by my friends :)

Few days back I came across many blogs having Julie & Julia giveaway and curiosity got better of me. I wanted to know about this lady who had so much to her credit.Cook books, TV shows, a memoir co authored by her and a movie based on her life. If I didn't read about her now,I knew I would be labelled a consciously ignorant fool . So I started reading My Life In France by Julia Child and Alex Prud' homme.

My opinion after I finished it : The book is great and so is Julia Child. An American woman who knew nothing about France , its culture , food or even language dived head on in to and emerged as an inspiration to millions. That's one very very good story. It's a story told in simple beautiful way that you feel as if you are reading something your friend has written for you. It makes you feel as if you have known her all along and she is just bringing you up to date with certain things you missed while chatting with her. Narrative gets 5 stars from my side.

Her experiences in the kitchen , her own and in her Cardon Bleu classroom are told in such a way that you can just picturise her learning proper preparation of glazed onions, crudites, salade verte , or the basic sauces. You feel for her when she learns all the difficult recipes for her examination to earn a diploma from the institute and her shock when she realises that the preparation's asked in the practical exam are those very simple ones published on a small booklet handed to them during admission , which she had blissfully ignored. Her family life , her friends, her book Mastering The Art Of French Cooking , her relationship with her co authors has been dealt in a very honest way. You can't help but admire this lady who made French cuisine what it means to common people today. It was there and it was good but she brought it to the masses.

I was so hungry while reading this book that I raided the refrigerator at least 3 times :) All the dishes discussed in the book just push you to either cook something or get a reservation at a good French restaurant. I totally went for the second option. This time my friends were surprised as I knew what I was ordering and quite a little about the lady they so revered. So , thanks to My Life In France, I am no longer, the royally ignored one in foodie discussion of my group.

Everything Austen Challenge X 2

2009-07-04T09:53:00.003+05:30

Great news.. The Everything Austen Challenge has been upped to 12 Austen themed things by Laurel Ann at Austenprose . That would be two books or movies per month. I have updated my list to include little more of Jane Austen.

Here's my revised list :

Books By Jane Austen

1. Northanger Abbey

2. Sense And Sensibility

3. Emma

4. Mansfield Park

Movies :

1. Persuasion

2. Becoming Jane

3. Emma

4. Pride And Prejudice

Books Inspired By Jane Austen's Works:

1. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

2. Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo

3. Prada And Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard

4. Lost Memoirs Of Jane Austen - Syrie James

Review :The Jane Austen Book Club

2009-07-03T20:02:00.004+05:30

Book: The Jane Austen Book Club
Author: Karen Joy Fowler
ISBN:0452289009
ISBN-13:9780452289000,978-0452289000
Binding: Paperback
Publishing Date: 2007/08/28
Publisher: Penguin Group
Number of Pages: 288

CHAPTER ONE

in which we gather
at Jocelyn's
to discuss Emma

We sat in a circle on Jocelyn's screened porch at dusk, drinking cold sun tea, surrounded by the smell of her twelve acres of fresh-mowed California grass. There was a very pretty view. The sunset had been a spectacular dash of purple, and now the Berryessa mountains were shadowed in the west. Due south in the springtime, but not the summer, was a stream.

"Just listen to the frogs," Jocelyn said. We listened. Apparently, somewhere beneath the clamor of her kennel of barking dogs was a chorus of frogs.

She introduced us all to Grigg. He had brought the Gramercy edition of the complete novels, which suggested that Austen was merely a recent whim. We really could not approve of someone who showed up with an obviously new book, of someone who had the complete novels on his lap when only Emma was under discussion. Whenever he first spoke, whatever he said, one of us would have to put him in his place.

This person would not be Bernadette. Though she'd been the one to request girls only, she had the best heart in the world; we weren't surprised that she was making Grigg welcome. "It's so lovely to see a man taking an interest in Miss Austen," she told him. "Delightful to get the male perspective. We're so pleased that you're here." Bernadette never said anything once if it could be said three times. Sometimes this was annoying, but mostly it was restful. When she'd arrived, she seemed to have a large bat hanging over her ear. It was just a leaf, and Jocelyn removed it as they hugged.

Jocelyn had two portable heaters going, and the porch hummed cozily. There were Indian rugs and Spanish-tile floors of a red that might hide dog hair, depending on the breed. There were porcelain lamps in the shape of ginger jars, round and Oriental, and with none of the usual dust on the bulbs, because it was Jocelyn's house. The lamps were on timers. When it was sufficiently dark out, at the perfect moment, they would snap on all at once like a choir. This hadn't happened yet, but we were looking forward to it. Maybe someone would be saying something brilliant.

The only wall held a row of photographs-Jocelyn's dynasty of Ridgebacks, surrounded by their ribbons and pedigrees. Ridgebacks are a matriarchal breed; it's one of their many attractive features. Put Jocelyn in the alpha position and you have the makings of an advanced civilization.

Queenie of the Serengeti looked down on us, doe eyes and troubled, intelligent brow. It's hard to capture a dog's personality in a photograph; dogs suffer more from the flattening than people do, or cats even. Birds photograph well because their spirits are so guarded, and anyway, often the real subject is the tree. But this was a flattering likeness, and Jocelyn had taken it herself.

Beneath Queenie's picture, her daughter, Sunrise on the Sahara, lay, in the flesh, at our feet. She had only just settled, having spent the first half-hour moving from one of us to the next, puffing hot stagnant-pond smells into our faces, leaving hairs on our pants. She was Jocelyn's favorite, the only dog allowed inside, although she was not valuable, since she suffered from hyperthyroidism and had had to be spayed. It was a shame she wouldn't have puppies, Jocelyn said, for she had the sweetest disposition.

Jocelyn had recently spent more than two thousand dollars on vet bills for Sahara. We were glad to hear this; dog breeding, we'd heard, could make a person cruel and calculating. Jocelyn hoped to continue competing her, though the kennel would derive no benefit; it was just that Sahara missed it so. If her gait could be smoothed out-for Ridgebacks it was all about the gait-she could still show, even if she never won. (But Sahara knew when she'd lost; she became subdued and reflective. Sometimes someone was sleeping with the judge and there was nothing to be done about it.) Sahara's competitive category was Sexually Altered Bitch.

The barking outside ascended into hysteria. Sahara rose and walked stiffly to the screen door, her ridge bristling like a toothbrush.

"Why isn't Knightley more appealing?" Jocelyn began. "He has so many good qualities. Why don't I warm to him?"

We could hardly hear her; she had to repeat herself. The conditions were such, really, that we should have been discussing Jack London. . . .

Most of what we knew about Jocelyn came from Sylvia. Little Jocelyn Morgan and little Sylvia Sanchez had met at a Girl Scout camp when they were eleven years old, and they were fifty-something now. They'd both been in the Chippewa cabin, working on their wood-lore badges. They had to make campfires from teepees of kindling, and then cook over them, and then eat what they'd cooked; the requirement wasn't satisfied unless the Scout cleaned her plate. They had to identify leaves and birds and poisonous mushrooms. As if any one of them would ever eat a mushroom, poisonous or not.

For their final requirement they'd been taken in teams of four to a clearing ten minutes off and left to find their own way back. It wasn't hard, they'd been given a compass and a hint: The dining hall was southwest of them.

Camp lasted four weeks, and every Sunday Jocelyn's parents drove up from the city-three and a half hours-to bring her the Sunday funnies. "Everyone liked her anyway," Sylvia said. This was hard to believe, even for us, and we all liked Jocelyn a ton. "She was attractively ill informed."

Jocelyn's parents adored her so, they couldn't bear to see her unhappy. She'd never been told a story with a sad ending. She knew nothing about DDT or Nazis. She'd been kept out of school during the Cuban missile crisis because her parents didn't want her learning we had enemies.

"It fell to us Chippewas to tell her about communists," said Sylvia. "And child molesters. The Holocaust. Serial killers. Menstruation. Escaped lunatics with hooks for hands. The Bomb. What had happened to the real Chippewas.

"Of course, we didn't have any of it right. What a mash of misinformation we fed her. Still, it was realer than what she got at home. And she was very game, you had to admire her.

"It all came crashing down on the day we had to find our way back to camp. She had this paranoid fantasy that while we were hiking and checking our compass, they were packing up and moving out. That we would come upon the cabin and the dining hall and the latrines, but all the people would be gone. Even more, that there would be dust and spiderwebs and crumbling floorboards. It would be as if the camp had been abandoned for a hundred years. We might have told her too many Twilight Zone plots.

"But here's the weird part. On the last day, her parents came to pick her up, and on the drive back, they told her that they'd gotten divorced over the summer. In fact, she'd been sent off just for this purpose. All those Sunday drives together bringing the funnies, and they couldn't actually stand each other. Her dad was living in a hotel in San Francisco and had been the whole month she was gone. 'I eat all my meals in the hotel restaurant,' he told her. 'I just come down for breakfast and order whatever catches my fancy.' Jocelyn said he made it sound as though that were the only reason he'd moved out, because restaurant eating would be so swell. She felt she'd been traded for shirred eggs."

One day several years later he called her to say he had a touch of the flu. Nothing for her to worry her darling head about. They had tickets to a baseball game, but he didn't think he could make it, he'd have to take a rain check. Go, Giants! It turned out the flu was a heart attack. He didn't get to the hospital until he was already dead.

"No wonder she grew up a bit of a control freak," Sylvia said. With love. Jocelyn and Sylvia had been best friends for more than forty years. . . .

There's no heat with Mr. Knightley," Allegra said. She had a very expressive face, like Lillian Gish in a silent movie. She frowned when she was making a point, had done this since she was a tiny girl. "Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax meet in secret and quarrel with each other and make it up and lie to everyone they know. You believe they're in love because they behave so badly. You can imagine sex. You never feel that with Mr. Knightley." Allegra had a lullaby voice, low, yet penetrating. She was often impatient with us, but her tones were so soothing we usually realized it only afterward.

"That's true," Bernadette agreed. Behind the lenses of her tiny glasses her eyes were round as pebbles. "Emma is always saying how reserved Jane is, even Mr. Knightley says so, and he's so perceptive about everyone. But she's the only one in the whole book"-the lights came on, which made Bernadette jump, but she didn't miss a word for it-"who ever seems desperately in love. Austen says that Emma and Mr. Knightley make an unexceptional marriage." She paused reflectively. "Clearly she approves. I expect the word 'unexceptional' meant something different in Austen's day. Like, nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing to set tongues wagging. Neither reaching too high nor stooping too low."

Light poured like milk over the porch. Several large winged insects hurled themselves against the screens, frantic to find it, follow it to the source. This resulted in a series of thumps, some of them loud enough to make Sahara growl.

"No animal passion," said Allegra.

Sahara turned. Animal passion. She had seen things in the kennels. Things that would make your hair stand on end.

"No passion at all." Prudie repeated the word, but pronouncing it as if it were French. Pah-see-ohn. Because she taught French, this wasn't as thoroughly obnoxious as it might have been.

Not that we liked it. The month before, Prudie's beautician had removed most of her eyebrows; it gave her a look of steady surprise. We couldn't wait for this to go away. "Sans passion, amour n'est rien," Prudie said.

"Après moi, le deluge," Bernadette answered, just so Prudie's words wouldn't fall into a silence that might be mistaken for chilly. Bernadette was really too kind sometimes.

Nothing smelly outside. Sahara came away from the screen door. She leaned into Jocelyn, sighing. Then she circled three times, sank, and rested her chin on the gamy toe of Jocelyn's shoe. She was relaxed but alert. Nothing would get to Jocelyn that didn't go through Sahara first.

"If I may." Grigg cleared his throat, held up his hand. "One thing I notice about Emma is that there's a sense of menace." He counted off on his fingers. He wore no ring. "The violent Gypsies. The unexplained pilferings. Jane Fairfax's boat accident. All Mr. Woodhouse's worries. There's a sense of threat hovering on the edges. Casting its shadow."

Prudie spoke quickly and decisively. "But Austen's whole point is that none of those things is real. There is no real threat."

"I'm afraid you've missed the whole point," said Allegra.

Grigg said nothing further. His eyelashes dropped to his cheeks, making his expression hard to read. It fell to Jocelyn as hostess to change the subject.

"I read once that the Emma plot, the humbling of a pretty, self-satisfied girl, is the most popular plot of all time. I think it was Robertson Davies who said so. That this was the one story everyone was bound to enjoy."

. . .

When Jocelyn was fifteen, she met two boys while playing tennis at the country club. One of them was named Mike, the other Steven. They were, at first glance, average boys. Mike was taller and thinner, with a prominent Adam's apple and glasses that turned to headlights in the sun. Steven had better shoulders and a nice smile but a fat ass.

Mike's cousin Pauline was visiting from New York, and they introduced themselves to Jocelyn because they needed a fourth for doubles. Jocelyn had been working on her serve with the club pro. She wore her hair in a high ponytail that summer, with bangs like Sandra Dee in Take Her, She's Mine. She had breasts, pointy at first, but now rounding. Her mother had bought her a two-piece bathing suit with egg-cup shaping, in which Jocelyn was exquisitely self-conscious. But her best feature, she always believed, had been her serve. Her toss that day was perfect, taking her to full stretch, and she spun the ball into the service court. It seemed she couldn't miss. Her spirits, as a consequence, were high and wild.

Neither Mike nor Steven spoiled things by being particularly competitive. They split games sometimes, and sometimes they didn't; no one really kept score but Jocelyn, and she did so only privately. They traded partners. Pauline was such a little snot, accusing people of foot faults in a friendly game, that Jocelyn looked better and better by comparison. Mike said she was a good sport, and Steven said she wasn't a bit stuck-up, not like most girls.

They continued to meet and play after Pauline went back home, even though three was such an awkward number. Sometimes when they rallied, Mike or Steven would try to run from one side of the net to the other to play on both teams at once. It never worked and they never stopped trying. Eventually some adult would accuse them of not being serious and throw them off the court.

After tennis, they'd change into their swimsuits and meet at the pool. Everything about Jocelyn changed with her clothes. When she came out of the women's locker room, her movements were cramped and tight. She'd wrap a towel around her waist and remove it only to slip into the water.

Still, she liked when they stared; she felt the pleasure of it all over her skin. They came in after her, touching her under the water, where no one could see. One or the other would swim down to put his head between her legs and surface with her knees hooked around his shoulders, the water from her ponytail streaming into the cup over her breast. One day one of them, she never knew which, pulled the knot of her top loose. She caught it just as it began to drop. She could have stopped this with a word, but she didn't. She felt dangerous, brazen. She felt all lit up.

She had no desire for anything further. She didn't actually like Mike or Steven that much, and certainly not in that way. When she lay in her bed or the bath, touching herself more intimately and successfully than they did, the boy she pictured was Mike's older brother, Bryan. Bryan went to college and worked summers as a lifeguard at the pool. He looked the way a lifeguard looks. Mike and Steven called him the boss, he called them the squirts. He had never spoken to Jocelyn, possibly didn't even know her name. He had a girlfriend who rarely got wet, but lay on a beach chair reading Russian novels and drinking Coca-Cola. You could tell how many she'd drunk from the maraschino cherries lined up along her napkin.

In late July there was a dance, and it was girl-ask-boy. Jocelyn asked Mike and Steven both. She thought they knew this, assumed they would talk about it. They were best friends. She thought it would hurt someone's feelings if she asked one and not the other, and she didn't want to hurt anyone. She had a strapless sundress to wear; she and her mother went out and bought a strapless bra.

Mike showed up at her house first, in a white shirt and a sports jacket. He was nervous; they were both nervous; they needed Steven to arrive. But when he did, Mike was shocked. Hurt. Furious. "You two have a great time," he said. "I got other things to do."

Jocelyn's mother drove Jocelyn and Steven to the club and wouldn't be picking them up again until eleven o'clock. Three whole hours had to pass somehow. Glass torches lit the pathway to the clubhouse, and the landscape flickered. There were rose wreaths and pots of ivy animals. The air cool and soft, the moon sliding down the sky. Jocelyn didn't want to be with Steven. It felt like a date now, and she didn't want to date him. She was rude and miserable, wouldn't dance, hardly talked, wouldn't take off her cardigan. She was afraid he might get the wrong idea, so she was trying to clarify things. Eventually he asked some other girl to dance.

Jocelyn went out by the pool and sat in one of the lounge chairs. She knew that she'd been unforgivably mean to Steven, wished she'd never met him. She wasn't wearing stockings and her legs were cold. She could smell her own Wind Song perfume mixing with the chlorine.

Music floated over the pool. "Duke of Earl." "I Want to Hold Your Hand." "There is a house in New Orleans." Bryan sat down on the end of her chair, making her blood skip. Probably she was in love with him.

"Aren't you the thing?" he said. The only light around them came from under the water and was blue. He was turned away, so she didn't see his face, but his voice was full of contempt. "There's a word for girls like you."

Jocelyn hadn't known this, hadn't even known there were girls like her. Whatever the word was, he didn't say it.

"You had those boys in such a fever. Did you like that? I bet you liked it. Did you know they used to be best friends? They hate each other now."

She was so ashamed. She'd known all summer there was something wrong with the way she was behaving, but she hadn't known what it was. She had liked it. Now she understood that the liking it was the wrong part.

Bryan gripped one of her ankles hard enough so that the next morning she had a bruise where his thumb had been. He slid the other hand up her leg. "You asked for this," he said. "You know you did." His fingers grabbed at her panties, pushed them aside. She felt the slick surface of his nails. She didn't tell him not to. She was too ashamed to move. His finger found its way inside her. He shifted his weight until he lay over her. He was wearing the same bay aftershave her father had worn.

"Bryan?" His girlfriend's voice, over by the clubhouse. "True Love Ways" playing on the turntable-Jocelyn would never like Buddy Holly again, even though he was dead, poor guy-the girlfriend calling. "Bryan? Bryan!" Bryan slid his finger out, let go of her. He stood up, shaking his jacket into place and smoothing his hair. He put his finger into his mouth while she watched, took it out. "We'll catch up later," he told her.

Jocelyn walked down the watery path through the torches and out to the road. The country club was in the country, up a long hill. It took twenty minutes to drive there. The roads twisted and had no sidewalks and were surrounded by trees. Jocelyn started home.

She was wearing sandals with one-inch heels. She'd painted her toenails, and in the moonlight, her toes looked as if they'd been dipped in blood. Already there was a raw spot on the back of one heel. She was very frightened, because ever since camp she'd lived in a world with communists and rapists and serial killers. Whenever she heard a car coming, she stepped away from the road and crouched until it passed. The headlights were like searchlights. She pretended she was someone innocent, someone who hadn't asked for anything. She pretended she was a deer. She pretended she was a Chippewa. She pretended she was on the Trail of Tears, an event Sylvia had recounted in vivid if erroneous detail.

She thought she'd be home before her mother left to pick them up. All she had to do was go downhill. But in the beam of a passing car, suddenly she didn't recognize anything. At the bottom of the hill was a crossroads she never came to, and now she was going up, which she shouldn't be doing, even for a short time. There were no street signs, no houses. She kept going forward only because she was too ashamed to go back. Hours passed. Finally she found a small gas station, which was closed, and a pay phone, which was working. As she dialed she was sure her mother wouldn't answer. Her mother might be out, frantically looking for her. She might have packed all her clothes into the car while Jocelyn was at the dance, and moved away.

It was midnight. Her mother made a horrible to-do about it, but Jocelyn convinced her that she'd only wanted some fresh air, some exercise, the stars.

From the book jacket :

In California’s central valley, five women and one man join to discuss Jane Austen’s novels. Over the six months they get together, marriages are tested, affairs begin,unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. With her eye for the frailties of human behavior and her ear for the absurdities of social intercourse, Karen Joy Fowler has never been wittier nor her characters more appealing. The result is a delicious dissection of modern relationships.

Dedicated Austenites will delight in unearthing the echoes of Austen that run through the novel, but most readers will simply enjoy the vision and voice that, despite two centuries of separation, unite two great writers of brilliant social comedy.

My Views :
I watched the movie 2 weeks back and was really looking forward to reading this book as I absolutely loved the onscreen version. I must say I wasn't disappointed. Actually, I was really happy that I read it. It's been I while since I liked any movie and it's book version equally. I guess the mistake I used to do,was to read the book and expect all of the plot and intricacies to be in the movie. That would leave me bitter . So my technique for this one worked. I liked the movie and when I read the book , I loved it even more.

There are very few people I know who haven't read Jane Austen and fewer among them who haven't liked what they had read. It's simple , it's witty, it's fun. Her heroines are not perfect but as they move ahead in life, they learn their lessons. Some by falling down and getting hurt ,others by making a total fool out of themselves and some others by just getting over their prejudices . But most importantly they learn. The Jane Austen Book Club members have somewhat the similar dispositions as Austen's heroines and the problems in their lives might just be solved if they pay attention to what Austen is trying to tell them.

Jocelyn, Sylvia , Bernadette, Allegra , Prudie and Grigg are the members of All Jane Austen All The Time Book Club. They have each chosen a book by Jane Austen and are responsible for it's discussion. Jocelyn, the initiator of the book club is Emmaish (if I can use that word to address her) She mostly had her friend Sylvia in mind while forming this book club as she wants to pair her with Grigg after Sylvia's recent separation from her husband Daniel.

Sylvia , who loves her husband and her kids is heartbroken after her husband asks her for divorce.Book club was meant for her to get over her grief. Allegra , Sylvia's lesbian daughter goes to the extremes of whatever she does. Moods always tend to go overboard with her. Her disastrous love life has made her Jane Austen's worst critic in the matters of romance.

Bernadette has seen more of life and love than the others but hasn't given up on either. She sees the romantic side of Austen , the fun , playful side.She loves Jane Austen for being such a romantic.

Grigg ,a sci-fi fan has joined the group at Jocelyn's request not knowing that Jocelyn is match making him with Sylvia , when he is fast falling for Jocelyn. He buys the biggest Jane Austen complete works book available and feels comfortable reading Mysteries Of Udolpho which is mentioned in Northanger Abbey but has never ever read Pride And Prejudice!!!

Prudie, the high school French teacher has a way of seeing Jane Austen and her books in a very personal tone that usually irritates the rest of them . So does her French in their discussions. A husband who doesn't share her likings is just one of her many problems.

The lives of these people are connected by one source = Austen and as they go about reading and discussing Jane Austen's books they learn lessons that can be inculcated in their own lives and probably solve some tricky issues and get over some prejudices.

This book is as much fun as it is thought provoking and even if there is any person (which I doubt there is )who hasn't read Austen any time will also love reading this book. If you are an Austen fan,then it's absolutely necessary you read this :) Highly recommended.

June Wrap Up

2009-07-02T12:52:00.004+05:30

This is a wrap up post for the reading done in the month of June.

Number of books read : 27

Number of books reviewed : 13

Number of Ongoing Challenges : 7

YA Book Challenge : 7 of 12 completed

Fill In The Gap 100 : 3 of 100 completed

Classics Challenge 2009 : 3 of 5 completed

Centuries Challenge 2009 : 2 of 4 completed

Books Vs Movies Challenge : 1 of 6 completed

Buy One Book And Read It Challenge : 2 completed

Review : Man,Woman And Child

2009-07-01T21:10:00.008+05:30

Book: Man, Woman, And Child
Author: Erich Segal
ISBN:0553562355
ISBN-13:9780553562354,978-0553562354
Binding: Paperback
Publishing Date: 1993/04/01
Publisher: Bantam Books
Number of Pages: 224

From the book jacket :

From Eric Segal comes an unforgettable story of love....the drama of a father and the son he never knew... And a marriage that must stand the greatest test of all. "Man, Woman And Child. Bob and Sheila Beckwith had everything: rewarding careers, two wonderful daughters, and a perfect marriage... almost perfect. for what Sheila didn't know was that Bob has once been unfaithful-only once, ten years ago during a business trip to France. What Bob didn't know was that his brief affair produced a son. Now a tragic accident-and one fateful phone call-will change Bob and Sheila's life forever...

My Views :

Erich Segal is one of my fav authors and never fails to impress me. This book of his, goes straight to my All Time Favorite list. If there is any author who knows how to bring out emotions and make you bawl like a baby then it is Segal.

Fidelity is something that is becoming a rare virtue in today's fast pacing world. May be in the next century Infidelity might be in fashion. Who knows ! But this cannot be generalized. Nonetheless a strong marriage needs strong commitments from both partners. The vows taken if handled lightly can bring about catastrophes unimaginable. Now who needs to be reminded of Glenn Close - Micheal Douglas starer Fatal Attraction. :) That's where it may lead. Ok, I know that's extreme but yet, infidelity can have effects , some really profound effects. That is what forms the crux of this novel.

Sheila Beckwith has a perfect family , a loving husband Bob , two beautiful daughters Jessica and Paula , a job she loves , what more can one ask for ? All this was until ,she got to know that her husband Bob had a brief affair with Nicole, a French doctor, when he had been to France on a business trip and Bob fathered a son , about whom he knew nothing until the day he received a phone call informing him of Nicole's death. Now, Jean Claude is an orphan and the responsibility falls on Bob, to take care of him . Sheila reluctantly agrees to let him stay with her family and thus begins ,the couples new journey towards accepting one another for being not so perfect , a journey of accepting a new member in to their fold ,knowing very well that he is the image of all that is threatening to break their marriage and family apart.

Characters are kept very real .It's not a fairy tale. It's a take on real incidents, real situations .That's what I love about Erich Segal. The interactions among the children are endearing and certain moments in the book make us reflect on human weakness , those that are almost always avoidable but are committed nonetheless and regretted all life.A story of love,a story of forgiveness . It's a story of acceptance.

It's a good read. Totally recommended , though I needed a box of tissues for all the crying I did.

Review : 13 Little Blue Envelopes

2009-06-30T21:42:00.006+05:30

Book:13 Little Blue Envelopes
Author:Maureen Johnson
Publisher : Harper Collins
Paperback: Oct 2006,
Pages : 318pg

From the book jacket:
Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it's all because of the 13 Little Blue Envelopes.

Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1,000 and instructions to buy a plane ticket.

In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat.

The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny: Find a starving artist.

Because of envelope 4, Ginny and her artist, a playwright/thief/bloke-about-town called Keith, go to Scotland together, with somewhat disastrous -- though utterly romantic -- results. Ginny isn't sure she'll see Keith again, and definitely doesn't know what to think about him.

Could the answer be in the envelopes?

Ginny doesn't know it, but adventures in Rome and Paris are in envelopes 6 and 8. The rules are that she has to open one at a time, in order, so perhaps it isn't surprising that she discovers things about her life and love one by one. Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it's all because of the 13 Little Blue Envelopes.

My Views:

Its fast, its funny , its entertaining, in some places its enlightening. Ginny Blackstone's journey from New York to the beautiful locales of Europe is a story of growing up , understanding and discovering oneself. Ginny's aunt Peg has given her 13 envelopes to be opened during various phases of the journey and through them Ginny learns about life and love and more importantly about her aunt Peg , who is now dead.

Ginny , who hasn't ever travelled alone embarks on this journey with just a backpack of essential stuff sans any electronic gadget ( no phones, cameras ,laptops, music player or books) and a packet containing those 13 envelopes. What is written in the letters ? I am not give out everything here ,even though the book jacket gives out a lil too much..It's worth the wait when you read the letters written by Peg just as they are supposed to be read. One after the other.

The best part of the book would be the travel. Europe is described really beautifully. It has made me want to visit those places so much..London, Scotland, Paris..

The style of writing though in third person never fails to keep you glued to the book. Ok, some places you do feel that it could have dealt with Ginny's feeling in a more detailed manner but we can over look that. It is still a great book. If you get a chance to read it, please do.

Teaser Tuesdays

2009-06-30T12:41:00.003+05:30

This weekly meme is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading . Anyone can play along. Follow these guidelines :

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

My choice this week is Master And Commander (Aubrey Maturin Series) by Patrick O'Brian

'It is curious that you should find foreign languages difficult, sir,' said Mr Maturin, who had
no views to offer on the weather, 'for it seems reasonable to suppose that a good ear for
music would accompany a facility for acquiring - that the two would necessarily run
together.'

What are you reading ?

2009-06-29T17:55:00.005+05:30

J Kaye hosts What are you reading on Mondays . To see what other bloggers are reading head over to J. Kaye's . Last week I had decided to read some books and listed them on this meme but I ended up reading quite a few different books instead :)
Here's my balance sheet or should I say book sheet :

Books read last week :

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Story Of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewiski ( took around 3 weeks but finally finished it)

Emily of New Moon by L.M.Montgomery

The Forest Of Hands And Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

Man Woman And Child - Erich Segal

13 Little Blue Envelops by Maureen Johnson( managed to finish this by Sunday)

Books To Be Read This Week :

Luxe - Envy by Anna Godbersen

Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Silas Marner by George Eliot

Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

The Everything Austen Challenge starts this July so I think I will start it with Jane Austen Book Club..Due to my hospital duty, I wasn't able to review all the books I read . I plan to make it up this week.Hopefully..

So, what are you reading this week?

Books, Books , More Books

2009-06-27T21:22:00.018+05:30

I have had a bookish week. Not only did I read books , I was also gifted books by my family . Now who doesn't like gifts and that too books!!! My family knows that nothing would make me more happy than a box full of books . So that's what I got for my birthday. I am so happy that , just before sitting down to write this I was doing a happy dance with my lil sister. I know it's so non adult behavior, but who cares. I am HAPPY !!!

Here's what my book box contained.

Ya , I got Twilight Series also. I must be the only one around who hasn't read it yet..I also happened to get Sookie Stackhouse Complete Book Set but I think I will pass it on to my sister as it's not my genre.Also the very beautiful Anne Of Green Gables Set which will probably go to my niece (until then I can savour them) . As of now I don't have a camera with me, so I am just posting these pics from Amazon . I can't help showing off.

Review: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

2009-06-27T10:06:00.009+05:30

Book: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Author: Judy Blume
ISBN:0440404193
ISBN-13:9780440404194,978-0440404194
Binding: Paperback
Publishing Date: 1993/02/01
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Number of Pages: 160

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret By Judy Blume

"No one ever told Margaret Simon that eleven-going-on- twelve would be such a hard age. When her family moves to New Jersey, she has to adjust to life in the suburbs, a different school, and a whole new group of friends. Margaret knows she needs someone to talk to about growing up-and it's not long before she's found a solution."

The sixth grader Margaret Simon , on the threshold of puberty finds that she has too many questions and doubts. The one she has chosen, to ask her questions is none other than God. Her liberal parents have given her the choice to choose her religion when she is old enough to do so( That's because , they belong to two different faiths .Margaret's father is Jewish and mother is Christian). Till then Margaret is just struggling to make sense of it all. Having grandparents of two different faiths has left her thoroughly confused . They are not making it any easy for her by trying to coerce her, towards their respective sides.

Along with it she has the usual preteen problems , not wanting to be the last girl who gets her periods in her school group , wanting to have a curvy figure like the older girls and also wishing for a boyfriend :)

The best part of the book is that it's truthful. I remember being that age and all the emotions a twelve year old goes through. Book makes a real good read .Margaret is totally adorable. Her opinions and arguments are very well reasoned . I wish I had read this book during my preteen days but better late than never..

Friday Finds

2009-06-26T17:21:00.016+05:30

MizB at Should Be Reading hosts this fun meme. So what are your picks this week? Did you find any book that you would want to add to your TBR? If yes , then join in ..

The Only True Genius In The Family - Jennie Nash "Though she lives in the shadow of her legendary landscape photographer father, and is the mother of a painter whose career is about to take off, Claire has carved out a practical existence as a commercial photographer.

Her pictures may not be the stuff of genius, but they've paid for a good life. When her father dies, Claire loses faith in the work she has devoted her life to-and worse, begins to feel jealous of her daughter's success. Then, as she helps prepare a retrospective of her famous father's photographs, Claire uncovers revelations about him that change everything she believes about herself as a mother, a daughter, and an artist."

Love From Your Friend , Hannah - Mindy Warshaw Skolsky

"Hannah's best friend, Aggie, moves away and doesn't answer a single one of her letters. Determined to find a new pen pal, Hannah picks an address from a box on her teacher's desk. It's a boy, but his first letter is so dopey, Hannah isn't even going to answer it. Instead, she writes to President Roosevelt. Before long, Hannah has a whole lot of pen pals--and finally discovers the perfect friend, in the most unlikely place.

In this absorbing epistolary novel, Mindy Warshaw Skolsky takes readers back to the late 1930s, and into the life of an irrepressible and unforgettable heroine."

So,what did you find this week ?

My Favorite Read - June 25

2009-06-25T10:50:00.011+05:30

This week's choice for My Favorite Reads hosted by Alyce At Home With Books is Louisa May Alcott's Good Wives .

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott has been read by almost all, but the same cannot be said about its sequel Good Wives. Though I like Little Women much more than this book , Good Wives being a sequel does a very good job of letting us know what happens to our favorite characters. The March girls have grown up and are moving in to the outside world and learning to lead life away from their parents protective surroundings. There are some surprises thrown in but the narrative is just like the first book. Sequels sometimes can spoil the taste for the original work but this book does complete justice. Actually after finishing this I even read off Little Men and Jo's Boys which take the story forward and I have no regrets of doing that.

I think people who have read Little Women should read Good Wives..

Review :The Forest Of Hands And Teeth

2009-06-24T19:54:00.010+05:30

Book: The Forest Of Hands And Teeth
Author: Carrie Ryan
ISBN:0385906315
ISBN-13:9780385906319,978-0385906319
Binding: Library Binding
Publishing Date: 2009/03/10
Publisher: Delacorte Press Books For Young Readers
Number of Pages: 320

Book Cover Says :

In Mary's world, there are simple truths.

The Sisterhood always knows best.

The Guardians will protect and serve.

The Unconsecrated will never relent.

And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village. The fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power. And, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.

Now she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?

My Views:

I am not a zombie book fan. Its definitely not my favourite genre. Now you might want to ask why did I even read this book then? My colleague with whom I share the examination room at the hospital had gone outside for coffee and had left her book on the table and I just picked up to see the blurb on the back cover. 'Zombie book' I said to myself , not my type of book but really beautiful cover. I had seen the cover on some of the blogs either on the reading list or on the giveaways so I started reading just out of curiosity.

I finished the book and you must have guessed it by now as I am reviewing it here. My friend was kind enough to lend it to me as she was almost done with it .So I read the book all through the journey home and finished it in almost 2hours.

This book holds you from the first line.Writing is beautiful and appealing . Here's a sample :
"As a child growing up, I learned in my lessons from the Sisters that just before the Return They—who They were is long forgotten—knew what was coming. They knew that something had gone horribly wrong and that it was only a matter of time before the Unconsecrated swarmed everywhere."

What makes it a unstoppable read is the story line itself. Its never slow or mundane. It keeps moving ahead and you try to keep up with it. First I tried to figure out Mary's strange world , then the people around her, her family , her friends , her village, the secretive sisterhood . It took me a while to assimilate and understand but when I got there I just wanted to know why was all this happening in Mary's village and what was the secret behind The Forest Of Hands And Teeth, the behind the Unconsecrated. Mary's curiosity helps us find many answers. For the zombie fans there is action , quite a lot. What else did you expect ? It has some gory descriptive passages but its never overdone, just enough to make it a somewhat scary read.

Mary, the narrator comes across as strong willed young woman who even in the toughest and the hardest of the times shows extraordinary courage. Inquisitive and daring she takes us with her in her journey to find the truth about her world..

All through the book , I never lost interest and that's a real plus point . Its a Young Adult Fiction but I think there is no harm in a adult reading it. Its enjoyable and gripping.

Author's Website : Carrie Ryan

The Teen Book Video Award Finalist 2008 :

Review :Before I Die

2009-06-23T15:03:00.006+05:30

Book: Before I Die
Author: Jenny Downham
ISBN:0385751583
ISBN-13:9780385751582,978-0385751582
Binding: Library Binding
Publishing Date: 2007/09/25
Publisher: Random House Childrens Books
Number of Pages: 326

Book Cover Says:

"Tessa has just a few months to live.

Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It's her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is sex.

Released from the constraints of 'normal' life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up.

Tessa's feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallized in the precious weeks before Tessa's time finally runs out. "

My Views :

I thought a lot since I completed reading this book. I could think straight only once I was done crying. Trust me I cried so much that my sister thought something bad must have happened. When I told her it was the book that I had just finished , she refused to believe me ,so I handed her the book. Now , I am waiting when she is going to have her episode , so I can tell her that its not me , it's the book. Jenny Downham's Before I Die is the kind of story that I am sure is gonna touch the lives of people who read it.

Tessa is going to die and you get to see her live the remaining days of her very short life ,trying to fit in all the things she feels she must do before she says her final good-bye. She has made a list of To Do things..There are things in her list that any teenager is warned not to do ,but she wants to do it and her reason is simple 'she is going to die' and she needs to experience all that is worth living for.

The book very beautifully explains the pain felt by her father, who masks it by going in to denial about his child's illness , trying to see if some newer therapy can work. A younger brother who feels may be she should hurry up and be done with . A teenager who has so much to do but has such short time leaving you praying for some miracle to happen. I really wanted some life saving therapy to work for this girl. I really did.

This book makes us realise one thing, that life is precious filled with beautiful things , we don't appreciate fully because we are too busy. Too busy to see the sun rise or sun set , too busy to appreciate the first rains , too busy to return a smile , too busy to have a life.

This book according me ,needs to be read by all , no matter how old you are. I actually wasn't able to put all my thoughts in this because it's so difficult . You just to need to read it to know what it is.

Keep box of tissues at hand. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Everything Austen Challenge !

2009-06-23T11:37:00.006+05:30

Everything Austen Challenge hosted by Stephenie at Stephanie's Written Word . I just needed a reason to read Austen again :)

About the challenge :

The Everything Austen Challenge will run for six months (July 1, 2009 – January 1, 2010)!
All you need to do is pick out what six Austen-themed things you want to finish to complete the challenge. You can choose books by Jane Austen , any of the movie adaptations , sequels or even the other Austen themed books.

My list for the challenge

Books By Jane Austen :

1. Northanger Abbey

2. Sense And Sensibility

3. Emma

Movies :

1. Persuasion

Books Inspired By Jane Austen's Works:

1. Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

2 Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo

Teaser Tuesday

2009-06-23T10:52:00.002+05:30

This weekly meme is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading and I am participating for the first time. Anyone can play along. Follow these guidelines :

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser for this week is from Jenny Downham's Before I Die.

" It’s a rule of mine not to get involved with dying people. They’re bad news."

Page 81

It's Monday ! What are you reading?

2009-06-22T21:29:00.005+05:30

J.Kaye is hosting this weekly event at J.Kaye's Book Blog . To see what other blogger have been reading head over to J.Kaye's blog.

Books Read Last Week:

We Were The Mulvaneys By Joyce Carol Oates ( Took me 2 weeks to complete)

Snow Falling on Cedars By David Guterson ( To be reviewed )

If You Could See Me Now By Cecelia Ahern (To be reviewed )

Breakfast At Tiffany's By Truman Caopte

Gently Falls The Bakula By Sudha Murthy

Books To Be Read This Week :

Before I Die by Jenny Downham ( YA Book Challenge)

Story Of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewiski ( Fill In The Gap 100 Project )

Emily of New Moon by L.M.Montgomery ( Young Adult Book Challenge)

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen ( Sarah Dessen Mini Challenge)

I am not sure if I will be done with Sawtelle so soon ,but will give myself another 5 days to complete it. I love Sarah Dessen's work so I am looking forward to reading This Lullaby.

Review : Breakfast At Tiffany's

2009-06-21T19:30:00.005+05:30

Book: Breakfast At Tiffany's
Author: Truman Capote
ISBN:0140274111
ISBN-13:9780140274110,978-0140274110
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Group (UK)
Number of Pages: 157

From The Back Cover :

"With her tousled blond hair and upturned nose, dark glasses and chic black dresses, she is top notch in style and a sensation wherever she goes. He brownstone apartment vibrates with Martini-soaked parties as she plays hostess to millionaires and gangsters alike. Yet Holly never loses sight of her ultimate goal - to find a real life place like Tiffany's that makes her feel at home. Immortalized in a film starring Audrey Hepburn, Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's is full of sharp wit and in its exuberant cast of characters vividly captures the restless, madcap era of early 1940s New York. "

My Views :

"I don't want to own anything until I know I've found the place where me and things belong together. I'm not quite sure where that is just yet. But I know what it's like.... It's like Tiffany's.... Not that I give a hoot about jewelry. Diamonds, yes. But it's tacky to wear diamonds before you're forty... "

Now when Holly Golightly says this, you believe her. As much as you think she is lying about her past life , you have to believe her . You believe her sincerest desire to have the best of both the worlds. You wonder what's with her name ..But still you believe her..

This the only Truman Capote I have read ,but I fell in love with the book. Not because of the movie ,because its such a lovely book. Holly is a call girl , a high society,older men preferring kind and she is hardly an adult herself (nineteen something hardly). She is lives life the way she wants to and tells people things they wouldn't want to hear about themselves but that's how she is. We get to meet her through her neighbour ,that's our narrator, who befriends her and their frequent meetings give us a glimpse of Holly's life.

So what's her fascination with Tiffany's?? Here's what Holly has to say about it ," What I've found does the most good is just to get into a taxi and go to Tiffany's. It calms me down right away, the quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there, not with those kind men in their nice suits... " Now reading that line made me kind of sad. She needs to call a place home but hasn't yet found it but she is not complaining she is just keeping a look out for that ,something special.You got to sympathise with her.

Narrator realises that there is more to Miss Golightly than that meets the eye but she hardly ever lets anything slip out. Its thru people that come in to her life ,that we are introduced to the real Holly..But do we really get to know her? That would be a good question. Enigma , was my word for her..I so loved her character. When I finished reading it, I just couldn't get myself to believe that it had ended because it leaves you wanting for more of her quirkiness , more of her smart comments , you desperately want to know what happened to her . Because by the end of the book you are so into Holly's life .. Now that is exactly what makes it a very highly recommended read..

Almost everybody has seen Audrey Hepburn in the movie and loved her but when you read it ,you will like her even more.Trust me I did..

Review : Thirteen Reasons Why

2009-06-19T21:44:00.003+05:30

Book: Th1rteen R3asons Why
Author: Jay Asher
ISBN:1595141715
ISBN-13:9781595141712
Binding: Hardcover
Publishing Date: 2007/10/18
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Number of Pages: 288

Thirteen Reasons Why By Jay Asher

From Back Cover Of The Book :

Clay Jenkins returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he will find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen reader

My Views :

When I started reading Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why , I knew it was a good story based on all the reviews I had read but I just didn't realise it would be so powerful.

Hannah Baker has committed suicide and she is making the people she feels are responsible for her miserable life and eventual death pay by making them listen to the tapes she has recorded and sent in to circulation.They need to keep circulating the tape or else they will all be exposed.
We see the events through the eyes of Clay Jenkins , Hannah's classmate and colleague at her summer job. He has no idea why he is one reason why Hannah killed herself but is about to find out and soon enough.

Every character in Hannah' life has been sketched really well. Hannah gives you her view about the person and we also get Clay's views , pretty much completing the picture.Asher's speed of narrative is just what needs to be. It brings up all of the teen DON T'S -alcohol , reckless driving , sexual abuse , peer pressure..Still it doesn't preach that is what makes it so good. Actions and their subsequent consequences are just put up there so that we can analyse and see what went wrong.

The way Hannah is wronged and subjected to crude gossip is what happens to so many teenagers in school these days. They are misunderstood, they are not given a chance to explain themselves and even if they get a chance who is ready to believe them ,for gossip is so much more juicier than truth, isn't it? The signs of coming suicide are almost always there but how many notice it and more importantly how many take a step towards these wounded souls is the question.

I couldn't stop reading till I had finished it and I must confess that , though this isn't a feel good book , it is one of those you are not supposed to miss.

My TBR Stock

2009-06-19T13:06:00.004+05:30

My To Be Read Stack for the month of July and August :

Month of June is more than half way through and July is approaching and I haven't yet finished some of my library loot .Above are some books I issued from my library and couple of which I own and plan to read in coming months. Some of these books come with very high recommendations and I can't wait to get started.Have you read any of these books? If yes do tell me how you liked them.

Review :We Were The Mulvaneys

2009-06-18T18:12:00.005+05:30

Book : We Were The Mulvaneys
Author:Joyce Carol Oates
Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Plume
ISBN-10: 0452277205
ISBN-13: 978-0452282827
Number Of Pages:464

We Were The Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

This book had been lying around for a long time on the shelf , when I finally picked it up to read it , it was because this was the first book that I could pull out on a rainy afternoon to while away my time. Now little did I know at that time ,that I would need more than an afternoon to finish this really beautiful piece of literature.

We Were The Mulvaneys..Odd choice for a title ,I thought. If they WERE then what are they now? What must have happened to them. You need to read a good 464 pages to see what happened to them and believe me you would want to know.

Story is set in 1970s chronicles the joys and tribulations of the Mulvaney family through the eyes of the youngest one ,Judd Mulvaney. A happy family is shattered on a Valentine's Day when Marianne the beautiful daughter of Micheal and Corrine Mulvaney is raped by her senior at a party. Life is never the same again. Once a lively part of her group ,very popular Marianne is shunned by her friends ,family is looked down upon in the community. I know, what you must be thinking ,but it was 1970's remember , so the social stigma still existed. The girl bears the brunt of the incident. Her parents distance her from them .This incident not only destroys Marianne life , it infectiously takes the life out of this family, it destroys a marriage. Eldest son Mikey Jr joins the marines , the second son Patrick hatches plans to get justice for his sister and the youngest sibling Judd ,our narrator is spectator to this family destruction. He says in the first few pages this account is like a family album ,something that his mom never kept during those days , only thing differing is ,its not all happy moments,its a full un cut account of his family's grief.

The character I loved the most was Marianne . Her character if written today would have been given more tools to fight back after what happens to her but even without being the crusader who fights the system she endeared herself to me. Her decision of not supporting her father in filing a law suit against her rapist , makes her the victim of her father 's anger leading to being exiled. I wonder did her parents ever understand her? A soft spoken , beautiful girl , once loved by all ,she finds it difficult to like herself now. Some wounds take a really long time to heal and they aren't all skin deep.

What was once a happy complete family is torn in to bits and shreds and scattered around. But can it be rebuilt again , after so many years ? Can they still be the Mulvaneys of High Point Farm ,that they used to be? To know that you need to read the book and find out.

My Favourite Reads -June18

2009-06-18T13:11:00.008+05:30

This week's choice for My Favorite Reads hosted by Alyce At Home With Books is Erich Segal's Doctors.

This book is a favourite for many reasons. One of the main reasons being I identify with many aspects of the story as I am doctor myself. The medical school years portrayed by Segal bring back some really good memories. The struggles and dilemmas that form the central theme are the ones that every doctor goes through almost every other day. There is a euthanasia moral debate which is still the main agenda in many of the medical conferences. Then there is the story of friendship between Laura and Barney , the central characters who struggle to come to terms with the hardships of their profession along side handling really challenging personal lives.

Book summary from the back jacket:

Erich Segal sweeps us into the lives of the Harvard Medical School's class of 1962.
His stunning novel reveals the making of doctors--what makes them tick, scheme, hurt . . . and love. From the crucible of med school's merciless training through the demanding hours of internship and residency to the triumphs--and sometimes tragedies--beyond, "Doctors" brings to vivid life the men and women who seek to heal but who must first walk through fire. At the novel's heart is the unforgettable relationship of Barney Livingston and Laura Castellano, childhood friends who separately find unsettling celebrity and unsatisfying love--until their friendship ripens into passion. Yet even their devotion to each other, even their medical gifts may not be enough to save the one life they treasure above all others. "Doctors" --heartbreaking, witty, inspiring, and utterly, grippingly real--is a vibrant portrait that culminates in a murder, a trial . . . and a miracle.

To an outsider its a view in to the turbulent lives of their healers and to the insiders its a recounting of the past experiences and a wake call that they need to take.

Here's one of my favorite passage from the book:

'Medical school provides the best substantiation for Charles Darwin's Theory of natural selection.For here we see in its cruelest form the survival of the fittest. Not the smartest as one should expect. But the fittest to cope with the inhuman pressures, the demands made not only on the brain but on the psyche............'

Its a gripping page turner all the way. Do read it ..

Review: Lock And Key

2009-06-18T11:45:00.008+05:30

Book: Lock And Key
Author: Sarah Dessen
ISBN-10: 067001088X
ISBN-13: 978-0670010882
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Reading level: Young Adult

Lock And Key by Sarah Dessen

From the front flap of the book:

"Ruby, where is your mother?"

Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she's been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return. That's how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she hasn't seen in ten years, and Cora's husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking Web site around. A luxurious house, fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future - it's a dream come true. So why is Ruby such a reluctant Cinderella, wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the genial boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give?

Best-selling author Sarah Dessen explores the heart of a gutsy, complex girl dealing with unforeseen circumstances and learning to trust again.

My Views :

This was my second Sarah Dessen book and I couldn't put it down till I had finished it. Its the ease with which she writes, that draws you in and makes you get totally involved with her characters. Ruby is a very independent sort of a girl who has never had a normal childhood given the fact that she and her alcoholic non dependable mother keep changing houses and jobs. Only time she depended on someone was when her elder sister Cora lived with them. That was a long time back. Even as a 17 yr old she has learnt to live alone and fend for herself when her mother takes off for days on end without bothering to inform her. This time when her mom leaves her alone, Ruby finds herself in front of a social worker who hands her over to her elder sister Cora and her husband Jamie as she is still not 18yrs to live on her own. All of a sudden she is brought in to a world she feels she doesn't belong to and neither does she want to belong.

The book traces the journey of Ruby's acceptance of the new family and friends and most importantly journey of self discovery and love. It takes a close look at the relationship that Cora and Ruby share earlier and now, when she comes to live with her . It talks of the difficulties faced when put in unexpected situations and how everything can be sorted out if we trust the people who care for us and love us and take a positive approach to life.

It also brings in to focus the abuse faced by kids at the hands of their parents and how reluctant they are in revealing it , even though they know there are people who can set things right for them.

Book gives a very positive message and makes you feel really good when you have reached the last page.I would recommend this book to all who love good YA reading.This book is my entry for the Sarah Dessen Mini Challenge hosted at Becky's Book Reviews.

Review : Gently Falls The Bakula

2009-06-16T17:59:00.009+05:30

Book: Gently Falls The Bakula
Author: Sudha Murty
ISBN:0143103776
Binding: Paperback
Publishing Date: 01-feb-2009
Publisher: Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd

About This Book:
			'Shrikant was restless . . . Holding a bakula flower in his palm, he was wondering why he was fascinated by this tiny flower, that was neither as beautiful as a rose nor had the fragrance of a jasmine or a champaka. And yet, it was very special to him. It held an inexplicable attraction for him.' Shrimati and Shrikant are neighbours and star students of their school in the small north Karnataka town of Hubli. It leaves no one in surprise when they come first and second respectively in the final Board exams. Soon Shrikant discovers he is strangely attracted to Shrimati, a plain-looking yet charming person, who always does better than him in the exams. Shrimati too falls in love with the amiable and handsome Shrikant and the two get married. Shrikant joins an IT company and starts rapidly climbing the corporate ladder. He works relentlessly and reaches the pinnacle of his industry, while Shrimati abandons her academic aspirations and becomes his uncomplaining shadow, silently fulfilling her duties as a corporate leader's wife. But one day, while talking to an old professor, she starts examining what she has done with her life and realizes it is dismally empty . . . Gently Falls the Bakula is the story of a marriage that loses its way as ambition and self-interest take their toll. Written nearly three decades ago, Sudha Murty's first novel remains startlingly relevant in its scrutiny of modern values and work ethics.

My Views:

When I had picked up the book from the book store I had no idea of reading it so soon but just reading the first page drew me in to the story . I loved it from Line one. Summary on the book cover gives you a fair idea of what the story is but only by reading it do you understand the emotions filled in to the story . When I read about Shrimati , the protagonist ,I remembered so many women I knew who had done the same for their spouses.The commitment ,the sacrifices that go unsung and un noticed by the family and their husbands is not new but its very rarely talked about and much more rarely written about in such a beautiful manner. Women according to Indian traditions and so to say many other world cultures are supposed to stay at home ,cook and take care of the family willingly or unwillingly. This has come down from ages and not many households have changed their view on women's rights or their independence financially or career wise.You might say that modern culture is different but look closely , Is it really that different? Even career women are expected to do what she would have done if she had stayed at home. Working doesn't exempt her from being subjected to taunts from in laws or sometimes husband. Not generalising it but 70% of women go thru it.

Characters are really well written, and plot holds the imagination of the reader up to the last page. The idyllic life of Hubli-Dharwad, the harshness and hustle bustle of Mumbai are pictured in a way only Sudha Murthy could have done.The book neither justifies nor glorifies anybody ,but it tells a good deal about our choices ,be it good ones or bad ones , or the ones that make us who we are today. I loved the ending and I think it couldn't have been concluded in a better way.

I would highly recommend this book. Read it and do tell me how you felt about it.

Book Awards Reading Challenge III

2009-06-16T14:16:00.001+05:30

I have very often avoided reading award winning books. I used to think that those were meant for immensely intellectual sort of readers who can find the hidden meaning out of the lines which sometimes make no sense to a common person.I was so wrong.Really , really wrong. When I finished God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy I realised how prejudiced I had been about the reading choices. So I am plunging head on in to this Book Awards III Reading Challenge.

This Challenge being hosted at Book Awards Reading Challenge last for 5 months, from July 1 through December 1, 2009.

Rules :

Read 5 books from 5 different awards during July 1, 2009 through December 1, 2009.

Overlaps with other challenges are permitted.

Choices don't have to be posted right away, and lists may be changed at any time.

'Award winners' is loosely defined; make the challenge fit your needs.

Here's my list ( though I might change one or two books depending on what's available at my library)

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (World Fantasy Award 2006)

Beloved - Toni Morrison (Pulitzer Prize 1988)

Half Of A Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Orange Prize 2007)

Kaddish For A Child Not Born - Imre Kertesz (Nobel Prize 2002)

The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh (Arthur C Clarke Award 1997)

My Weekly Loot

2009-06-16T10:30:00.012+05:30

I spent the last 3 days in Delhi on vacation with my family ,though the temperature outside was 42 degree Celsius we were determined to make the best of this .We had a really great time seeing all the places of interest Qutub Minar , Red Fort , India Gate , Lotus Temple, Rajghat, CP and so many little markets in the bylanes selling the best types of trinkets and accessories from all over India. Due to all the hustle bustle of traveling and sight seeing I hardly had time to read any of the books I carried with me. At the end of the tour while we were waiting at the airport I decided to buy some more books (I know but I can't stop myself when I see a book store :)) . Here are some books that I bought and I am really looking forward to reading.

Book: A Town Called Dehra
Author: Ruskin Bond
ISBN:014306469X
ISBN-13:9780143064695,978-0143064695
Binding: Paperback
Publishing Date: 01-sep-2008
Publisher: Penguin Books India (penguin)
Number of Pages: 240

Book: Half Of A Yellow Sun
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
ISBN:0007272375
ISBN-13:9780007272372,978-0007272372
Binding: Paperback
Publishing Date: 2007
Publisher: Harper Collins Paper Back
Number of Pages: 448 pages

Book: Letter's From A Father To His Daughter
Author: Jawaharlal Nehru
ISBN:0670058165
ISBN-13:9780670058167,978-0670058167
Binding: Plc
Publishing Date: 04-nov-2004
Publisher: Penguin Books India (puffin)
Number of Pages: 168

Book: The Music Room
Author: Namita Devidayal
ISBN:818400012X
ISBN-13:9788184000122,978-8184000122
Binding: Hardcover
Publishing Date: 2007
Publisher: Random House Publishers India P.ltd
Number of Pages: 320

My Favorite Reads-June 11

2009-06-11T16:36:00.004+05:30

My Favorite Reads meme started by Alyce At Home With Books lets us showcase a book that hasn't been reviewed but has been read and enjoyed .My selection for today is a Jeffery Archer book .I am not sure if people have read it before but this always remained on my bookshelf as the reminder of a story that can keep you to the edge of your seat ,just by the novelty of its plot. This was my first Jeffery Archer book and I absolutely loved it and recommended it to all who would listen to me :) (That was until I read Kane And Abel ) Even after reading all of Archer's books I still haven't lost the love I had for this one. The book I am talking about is "Not A Penny More ,Not A Penny Less "

This was his first novel and a very critically acclaimed one, turned in to a TV series and a movie too. Though his list of bestsellers is long , this one according to me, holds the top spot [OK.. Kane And Abel ties with it for the first place :)]
Though his later day novels turned in to kind of similar concepts predictable twists and turns , his earlier works were really, really good. Archer knows how to hold the attention of the reader with right amount of surprises at the right time and its very clear in this one.

Coming to this book.

Summary from the back cover:
The conned: an Oxford don, a revered society physician, a chic French art dealer, and a charming English lord. They have one thing in common. Overnight, each novice investor lost his life's fortune to one man. The con: Harvey Metcalfe. A brilliant, self-made guru of deceit. A very dangerous individual. And now, a hunted man.

With nothing left to lose four strangers are about to come together-each expert in their own field. Their plan: find Harvey, shadow him, trap him, and penny-for-penny, destroy him. From the luxurious casinos of Monte Carlo to the high-stakes windows at Ascot to the bustling streets of Wall Street to fashionable London galleries, their own ingenious game has begun. It's called revenge-and they were taught by a master..

My Views:
If a plot can be so good as to hold your attention up to the last page then its definitely worth reading. This book falls in to that category.You must be feeling I am glorifying it a little too much :) When have finished reading it ,you will be saying the same. All the characters are well researched and there is hardly any opportunity to find flaws in the technicalities. Language is simple thus making it a easy read.Give it a try and tell me what you felt about this book.

Review : Canterbury Tales

2009-06-09T10:26:00.006+05:30

This book took more time than usual and you will understand why when you read it.Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a classic and very solid one at that. I had always wanted to read it but never got a chance so I put it up on my Centuries Challenge and read it off. It is a beautiful piece of literature I must say.Its poetry and prose combined together.

Canterbury Tales is a set of stories told by pilgrims going to visit the shrine of Thomas Backet , a saint in Canterbury. Story begins with the introduction of each pilgrim who have come from various parts of England. The group consists of the Knight, his son the Squire, the Knight's Yeoman, a Prioress, a Second Nun, a Monk, a Friar, a Merchant, a Clerk, a Man of Law, a Franklin, a Weaver, a Dyer, a Carpenter, a Tapestry-Maker, a Haberdasher, a Cook, a Shipman, a Physician, a Parson, a Miller, a Manciple, a Reeve, a Summoner, a Pardoner, the Wife of Bath and Chaucer. Host of the Tabard inn,Harry sets the rules for them.They have to tell stories , two each during to and fro journey .and he will decide whose tale is best of all based on its meaning and moral. Thus begins the book with these pilgrims,some of them brave ,some cunning ,some naive yet all of them adding to the picture a unique quality that doesn't fail to stand out at the end of the particular tale told by them.A comparison done with present times will surely show similar characters in our midst.

Being a romantic at heart ,I loved the Knight's tale the most .Though other tales were equally good.The themes of the tales include love, chivalry, dishonesty, sermon and so on but most of them with a religious message. Some tales I must tell you are incomplete and it is not clear if Chaucer ever completed this work as it abruptly ends with no winner chosen in the end.As the characters have been introduced in the first chapter the focus of the book is mostly on the tales .This in no way makes any difference ,as it still a wonderful book for all Classics and Poetry lovers.

Written in the Middle Ages this book is considered Geoffrey Chaucer's best work.

Top Ten Children's Classics

2009-06-08T22:58:00.004+05:30

Today I would like to post my Top Ten children's classics. They were a very important part of my growing up years and have lots of beautiful memories attached to them. Though these were read mostly during my school days ,I have very often gone back to read them just to re live those moments.

1. Little Women

2. Anne Of Green Gables

3. Black Beauty

4. Gulliver's Travels

5. A Little Princess

6. The Swiss Family Robinson

7. The Jungle Book

8. Heidi

9. David Copperfield

10.Tom Brown's Schooldays

Have I missed any other book that could have made it on my list here.What's your opinion ? I would really like to know.

Review : Geek High

2009-06-07T13:07:00.011+05:30

Last week was more of classics week for me rather than any other genre.Exhausted but not defeated I decided I needed a change. What better than Chick Lit.I headed to my sister's bookshelf and on her recommendation I picked up Geek High by Piper Banks.

Now , I don't read Chick Lit very often but whenever I have read it , its been a very pleasant experience.These feel good books are like Gods gift whenever you are travelling or just want to kill time.Small and satisfying.I must say I wasn't disappointed by this book.Actually, I really liked it.

This is the story of Amanda Bloom aka Human Calculator who goes to a school for children with special talent i.e. geniuses .Her parents have divorced and she lives with her mom , writer of romantic novels. Even though Amanda is gifted with a very unique mathematical ability she has no interest whatsoever in it.She feels she isn't as gifted as her fellow classmates and there is nothing special about her. Actually her real liking lies in writing and wants to be on the school literary committee and not the Math club of which she is the star candidate. A bizarre twist of events lands her on her father's doorstep who lives with Amanda's step mom Peyton aka Demon and step sister Hannah aka Demon spawn :) Amanda has a school year is starting and is not ready to face so many changes at once after all she is just a teenager. Not to mention that she has been crushing on a guy who has no idea she exists.Amidst all this she finds herself being blackmailed in to Organising the yearly Snowflake Gala yearly school event . How Amanda deals with her life crises and learns about her real abilities forms the crux of the story.

Funny and smart account really cheered me up.So if you haven't read it yet I think you better give it a try.I have heard that a sequel Geek Abroad has also been published .I might read it if I happen to find it.

This book can be purchased in paperback format here.

My Weekly Loot

2009-06-07T10:41:00.009+05:30

This week's visit to my bookstore gave me a reason to rejoice. The shelves were stacked with so many titles I had been waiting to read. I couldn't buy them all at once ,could I? I just bought two books but reserved a few other books. These are my finds for this week. The back covers and the summaries have intrigued me enough to buy them.

Here they are :
Kunal Basu's The Japanese Wife

Sudha Murthy's Gently Falls The Bakula

Book: The Japanese Wife
Author: Basu Kunal
ISBN: 8172237332
Binding: Hardcover
Publishing Date: 2008
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers India Ltd
Number of Pages: 212 pages

Book: Gently Falls The Bakula
Author: Sudha Murty
ISBN:0143103776
Binding: Paperback
Publishing Date: 01-feb-2009
Publisher: Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd

Hope to finish reading them soon and review them..

Books vs Movie Challenge 2009

2009-06-06T12:12:00.005+05:30

This is hosted by Royal Reviews for the year 2009.

The rules are simple:

In 2009 read a minimum of 6 books that have been made into movies and then watch the movie.

Write a review on the Book vs the Movie
Be honest about whether or not you think the film-maker was successful in translating the book to film. Please keep in mind that it is impossible to convey everything.
You must both read the book and watch the movie within 2009. All genres are acceptable and it doesn't matter when the movie was made.

Here's my list:

~~Vanity Fair~~

Doctor Zhivago

Marley And Me

The English Patient

Breakfast At Tiffany's

Sophie's Choice

Vanity Fair : Movie Vs Book

2009-06-06T10:43:00.008+05:30

Having read and reviewed the book Vanity Fair recently ,after many years since having first read it, I thought , how much of the details of the plot I had missed the first time round. I was in school that time ,so can't blame myself.

The thing that actually reminded me of the book was the movie Vanity Fair starring Reese Witherspoon (one of my fav ) directed by Mira Nair,which I watched a month back.I know it was released yrs ago. I hadn't watched it before (Nothing against the movie :) I watch movies at my leisure ,sometimes long after their release and seriously try to avoid watching movies which are book adaptations. )Somehow I ended up watching this one . Big Mistake! ! I knew I should have stuck to the book when I saw that all of the director's efforts were making Becky Sharp a symbol of women power,which she definitely wasn't.Atleast not in a positive ,justifying sort of way.She is one of the best liked anti heroines of all time .She must have been left that way.Here she was being portrayed as a feminist and was being justified too. To top it, Amelia Sedley ,who in the book is naive and sweet was somewhat of a dim in the movie. The dances and the gory reddish sets they used for the effect didn't help in anyway. As if this wasn't enough we even got a alternate ending. No thank you..Very happy with the book ending.

Creative liberty the film makers take is acceptable as long as it doesn't take off the charm of the book but its horrible when they slash it up and trivialise the vital plot . I know its difficult to get a 700-800 pg book turned into a 3 hour movie without making changes in them but that must not leave the viewer complaining.

Now there can be good adaptations too , like the BBC Book adaptations. I watched that one just for the sake of comparing :) Result: Absolutely loved it.Natasha Little as Becky Sharp was perfect.Beautiful and cunning. True to the book for most of the part , it brought out the essence wonderfully.Thackeray would have liked it,I am sure.Other actors too were great and aptly cast.This did make me feel better.

So the end result: 1 book 2 movies .Thrash the first one Watch the second one

On second thoughts, go read the book ;)

Sarah Dessen Mini Challenge

2009-06-05T20:57:00.006+05:30

The Sarah Dessen Mini-Challenge hosted by Becky at Becky's Book Reviews will be for the year 2009. It begins January 1, 2009, and goes through December 31, 2009.

The goal of this challenge is to read TWO of her books. (Audio books are welcome.)
My 2 books for this challenge are:

1. Lock and Key

2. This Lullaby

I might also read a few more if I am able to find them at my bookstore.

2009 Young Adult Book Challenge

2009-06-05T20:09:00.021+05:30

Here is my book list for 2009 YA Book Challenge hosted on J.Kaye's Book Blog.

1. ~~Lock And Key -Sarah Dessen~~

2. ~~The Goose Girl - Shannon Hale~~

3. ~~Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret - Judy Blume~~

4. ~~Geek High - Piper Banks~~

5. Tales Of Beedle The Bard- J.K .Rowling

6. ~~Before I Die - Jenny Downham~~

7. ~~Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan~~

8. ~~The Forest Of Hands And Teeth - Carrie Ryan~~

9. ~~Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher~~

10.~~13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson~~

11.~~Percy Jackson And The Olympians :Lightning Thief -Rick Riordan~~

12.~~Percy Jackson And The Olympians: The Sea Of Monsters - Rick Riordan~~

Some of these I have read long time back and plan to read again and some are new to me.So wish me luck..

Books Read In 2007

2009-06-05T13:05:00.002+05:30

Review : Lady Susan

2009-06-04T17:42:00.009+05:30

I am a Jane Austen Fan and a solid one at that, having read most of her books not once but many times.Lady Susan ,was one book that somehow didn't make up to my book shelf until recently.I saw a review on one of the blogs and promptly checked it out from my local library.I knew from the other reviews that it was one of the later published works of the author and it was in form of letters but didn't realise that it would be so different from rest of her works.By different ,I mean ,the protagonist,Lady Susan..She is not the usual strong minded but lovable characters Jane creates .Lady Susan is very beautiful no doubt ,but also selfish(seriously) and cunning .A combination, we don't usually attribute to heroines,not to Austen heroines at the least.But this one is!!

The main plot revolves around Lady Susan's attempts to find herself a good match ,within a short period of the death of her husband and also some one really rich for her teenage daughter , who hates this idea. To fulfill this task, she lands at the house of her brother, Mr Vernon , even though she hasn't been totally nice to him or his wife in the past.She uses her talents to accomplish her task to the fullest and that really makes it fun to read.Best part is when Mrs Vernon's brother falls for her even after knowing about her not so nice past history.And not to forget she has an affair with a much married man. The book is in form of letters written by the central characters, unfolding the story in a really nice manner.Certain moral issues are dealt with as is usual with any Austen book and the theme of younger men for older women also comes up in this one.

Not a long winding novel like the rest of her works but a quick read. Funny,rather interesting work of an author the literary world loves so much.I would recommend it to any classics or Austen fan.This book is my second entry for my Classics challenge 2009. Two down three more to go.

Books Read In 2008

2009-06-04T11:56:00.002+05:30

My Favorite Reads-June 4

2009-06-04T11:32:00.006+05:30

Alyce at At Home With Books has started this new feature of My Favorite Reads every thursday.Nice concept . Here, books that are on the bookshelf ,that have been read longtime ago but haven't been reviewed will be introduced. I rummaged through my book pile and found one book that I feel has been read and loved by all during childhood, but not sure if anybody has gone back to it since then.

My choice for this week is A Bear Called Paddington by Micheal Bond. I know its a kids book but when you start reading it now,after so many years , it definitely brings back really nice memories and also momentarily makes you forget that you are all grown up now and are not supposed to be seen with this :)

Synopsis from the back cover of the book :

Mr and Mrs Brown first met Paddington-a most endearing bear from darkest Peru- on a railway platform in London.A sign hanging around his neck said, " Please look after this bear.Thank you."So that is just what they did.

From the very first night when he attempted his very first bath and ended up nearly flooding the house ,he was seldom far from imminent danger.Jonathan and Judy were delighted with this havoc and even Mr. and Mrs. Brown had to admit life seemed little more filled with adventure with a bear in the house.

Paddington celebrated his 50th birthday last year and a 50th anniversary edition was brought out by Houghton Mifflin Company for the first time with colour illustrations by the original illustrator Peggy Fortnum ( really nice illustrations)

This cute bear has captivated the imagination of children for half a century now and the theme is still appealing.If you find literature for children fascinating or if you read out to your kids ,this must make it to your top 10 reads.

Fill in the Gaps 100 Project

2009-06-03T21:17:00.012+05:30

The real fun part of the Fill In The Gap 100 Project was selecting the books for which I had to clean up and dig out my book shelves.It proved to be a great experience ,as I found so many books that I wanted to read from a long time but had kept them out of reach.So the task completed ,I am putting up my list which has books from almost all genre.

1. The Book Thief- Markus Zusak

2. ~~We Were The Mulvaneys- Joyce Carol Oates~~

3. BirdSong-Sebastian Faulks

4. Katherine- Anya Seton

5. The Wind In The Willows –Kenneth Graham

6. Away-Amy Bloom

7. The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen

8. The Dante Club-Matthew Pearl

9. Finding Grace-Alyssa Brugman

10. ~~Lady Susan –Jane Austen~~

11. Mailman –J Robert Lennon

12. Sophie’s Choice-William Styron

13. Crime And Punishment- Fyodor Dostoevsky

14. The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells

15. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - Mary Ann Scaffer

16. The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky

17. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen

18. While I was Gone-Sue Miller

19. Stuart Little- E B White

20. To Kill A Mocking Bird –Harper Lee

21. The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje

22. Kafka On The Shore-Haruki Murakami

23. What The Body Remembers- Shauna Singh Baldwin

24. Kaddish for a Child Not Born- Imre Kertész

25. The Stone Diaries-Carol Shields

26. A Very Long Engagement-Sebastien Japrisot

27. The Zoo Keeper’s Wife-Diane Ackerman

28. The Story of A Marriage – Andrew Sean Greer

29. Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay

30. Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela

31. November Rain - Al Raines

32. A Lesson Before Dying-Ernest J Gaines

33. A Short History of Nearly Everything-Bill Bryson

34. The Cider House Rules –John Irving

35. Ivanhoe -Sir Walter Scott

36. The Great Gatsby- Scott Fitzgerald

37. Grapes Of Wrath-John Steinbeck

38. War and Peace -Leo Tolstoy ( re read)

39. Prizes-Erich Segal

40. Marley And Me –John Grogan

41. The Host-Stephenie Meyer

42. The Bone Setter’s Daughter-Amy Tan

43. Autumn Of the Patriarch-Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44. Catch-22 –Joseph Heller

45. A Brief History Of Time-Stephen Hawking

46. Atlas Shrugged –Ayn Rand

47. Unaccustomed Earth-Jhumpa Lahiri

48. Two Lives-Vikram Seth

49. Illusions-Richard Bach

50. A Passage To India- E M Forster

51. ~~Canterbury Tales-Geoffrey Chaucer~~

52. Silas Marner- George Eliot

53. Beloved-Toni Morrison

54. The Poisonwood Bible-Barbara Kingsolver

55. The Ground Beneath Her Feet - Salman Rushdie

56. Thank You, Jeeves- P.G.WoodHouse

57. Life of Pi – Yann Martel

58. Purple Hibiscus- Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie

59. The Trial-Franz Kafka

60. Doctor Zhivag0-Boris Pasternak

61. A Death In The Family-James Agee

62. Great Expectations-Charles Dickens

63. All Quiet On The Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

64. Famished Road-Ben Okri

65. God Of Small Things- Arundhati Roy

66. The Sound And The Fury –William Faukner

67. Ender’s Game-Orson Scott Card

68. Remembrance Of Things Past- Marcel Proust

69. Good Earth –Pearl S Buck ( re read)

70. The Road –Cormac McCarthy

71. Dark Roots-Cate Kennedy

72. The Stranger-Albert Camus

73. Change of Heart-Jodi Picoult

74. No Country for Old Men- by Cormac McCarthy

75. The House of Mirth -by Edith Wharton

76. Lottery- by Patricia Wood

77. Before I Die -Jenny Downham

78. The Member of the Wedding- by Carson McCullers

79. A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man-James Joyce

80. The Hours –Micheal Cunningham

81. Wives and Daughters-Ekizabeth Gaskell

82. Black Beauty-Anna Sewell( re read)

83. 2001 Space Oddyssey - Arthur C Clarke

84. The Talented Mr Ripley-Patricia Highsmith

85. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance-Robert Pirsig

86. Slaughterhouse Five -Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

87. Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury

88. Final Diagnosis- Arthur Hailey ( re read)

89. I, Claudius –Robert Graves

90. The Story of A Marriage – Andrew Sean Greer

91. The Reader-Bernhard Schlink

92. Song Of Solomon-Toni Morrison

93. Tales Of Sevastopol –Leo Tolstoy

94. Edgar Allan Poe Complete Tales

95. Phantom Of The Opera-

96. Little Dorrit-Charles Dickens

97. Lock And Key-Sarah Dessen

98. The Guide-R.K.Narayan

99. Malgudi Days –R.K.Narayan

100.Daughter Of Fortune-Isabel Allende

Review :Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

2009-06-03T15:18:00.015+05:30

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

I had always wanted to read Virginia Woolf ,so I guessed this would be a safe read.Not totally disappointed I must say. The story spans across the events occurring on one particular day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway. On this day she is hosting a party at her place. As the day unfolds Clarissa reminisces on her past. Taking a walk down the memory lane she comes across certain incidents , where she wonders if she made the right choices. She meets her former suitor Peter Walsh whose character is so totally opposite to that of her husband Richard Dalloway, a domineering man who has hardly shown his feelings towards his wife in the recent past.The other characters in the story are Septimus Smith and his wife Lucrezia.Mental illness that Septimus is said to be suffering , as the result of his war injuries and shock are dealt by the doctors of the time with insensitivity and utter callousness.A point to ponder over.

Clarissa's party has people, whom we have met throughout the book in her memories of past.People who have changed for good and bad.Some who haven't changed at all.People, who make up a portion of her life , which Clarissa holds so dear.A society life she so likes because it brings people to gather.
Clarissa clearly knows that she doesn't have a happy marriage but being the wife of man with political ambition is no easy job.She entertains her guests keeping in mind their likes and dislikes ,which may have effect on her husband's career. Clarissa fulfills her role perfectly depicting Woolf 's liking for portraying a strong minded woman..

Though the monologues can get a wee bit stretchy, its still a great book.I had seen it on the list on Top 100 books on a website recently , so I am glad I did read this book.Also its my entry for Buy One Book And Read It Challenge.

Buy One Book And Read It Challenge

2009-06-03T14:50:00.008+05:30

This is a unique book challenge hosted on My Friend Amy's blog.
This challenge gave me a reason to go and buy some new books.So I went to the bookstore and bought 2 books, I so wanted to read but couldn't think of buying until I had cleared my tbr pile. Once I had made up my mind to finish these 2 books and post them for this challenge there wasn't anything stopping me.

My first book is Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Wolff..

Leo Tolstoy Mini Challenge

2009-06-03T13:39:00.005+05:30

Oh My God!!! Today is my lucky day as I am finding so many new challenges that i absolutely can't ignore.This one is special because I really like Tolstoy's works. Becky has a mini challenge here at Mini Challenges hosted by Becky.

The Leo Tolstoy Mini-Challenge will be for 2009-2010. The challenge will start January 1, 2009 and go through August 31, 2010.

The goal of this one is to read TWO of his books.

I plan to read two of his famous works

1.War and Peace

2.Anna Karenina

Centuries Challenge

2009-06-03T12:26:00.007+05:30

I am seroiusly on a reading spree..I have signed up for Centuries Challenge hosted by Becky at Becky's Book Reviews.

This is my list for the challenge:

Iliad by Homer (800 -700 BC)

Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (1386)

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli ( 1513)

Vanity Fair by William Thackeray (1847)

Wish me luck

Review : Vanity Fair

2009-06-03T10:48:00.011+05:30

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray was the book I finished just before I signed up for Classics challenge. I had read it once during my schooldays but reading it now was really a fresh look at the theme.

The title aptly summarises the story.Vanity Fair according to the author ,symbolises the world with all its temptations ,pleasures and cunning deceptions.All that outwardly attracts but always deceives the one who falls prey to these attractions. He has shown his characters as men and women of pomp and show who are greedy , arrogant without any moral scruples.

The novel takes us through the lives of Amelia Sedley and Rebecca Sharp ,the two central characters, their journey through girlhood to womanhood, during the time when Napoleon Bonaparte was threatening the peace of Europe. These women are complete opposites.Amelia , an innocent, lovely, homely girl who thinks ill of none and Rebecca or Becky as she is called , beautiful, intelligent but a cunning go-getter.

Amelia belonging to a rich family never feels the want of wealth,she always considers love and friendship to the most important acquisitions of ones life. On the other hand Becky ,an orphan always dreams of wealth and power .As the story progresses Becky moves up on the social ladder with no scraps of morality left in her.Her concerns for her son and husband are nil in comparison of her love for power and status. Amelia on the other hand has a bad turn of luck and loses the one she loves the most and is left to care for her family which is bankrupt.What these women find in stored for them in the journey of life is the main plot of Vanity Fair.Though I would like to give a little more of the story line I feel that would remove the curiosity out of the readers who might venture to read it.

Thackeray had described the book as 'novel without a hero'.Very Right.These women are more than enough to hold your attention. According to me Rebecca Sharpe Crawley is one of the most fascinating heroines you will find in literary history.Though not your ideal nice and sweet girl she still manages to stay in your mind even though the book is completed.Lovers of classics would find it a gripping read.I liked it though I am more of Austen genre..

Classics Challenge 2009

2009-06-03T10:15:00.006+05:30

I have participated in Classics Challenge 2009 hosted by Trish .I love classics and couldn't stop myself from signing up. I finished Vanity Fair last month so I will be adding it in the list.

This is my list of Classics for the challenge :

1. Vanity Fair by William Thackeray

2 Lady Susan by Jane Austen

3 Silas Marner by George Eliot

4 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

5 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

2009-06-03T09:58:00.000+05:30

My Books For 2009

2009-06-01T21:29:00.030+05:30

Books read and reviewed in 2009:

The Diary Of A Wimpy Kid -Jeff Kinney

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Belong To Me -Marisa de los Santos

The Cider House Rules - John Irving

Looking For Alaska - John Greene

The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

Kafka On The Shore- Haruki Murakami

Something , Maybe - Elizabeth Scott

Eldest (Inheritance 2) - Christopher Paolini

Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche

The Goose Girl - Shannon Hale

Two States - The Story Of My Marriage - Chetan Bhagat

Graceling - Kristin Cashore

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

The Adoration Of Jenna Fox - Mary Pearson

The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield

Vision In White - Nora Roberts

Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Percy Jackson And The Olympians Series :The Sea Of Monsters - Rick Riordan

The Book Of Fate - Brad Meltzer

Percy Jackson And The Olympian Series -Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan

My Life In France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme

Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler

Luxe - Envy - Anna Godbersen

Girl With A Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier

13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson

Man Woman And Child - Erich Segal

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret - Judy Blume

The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle - David Wroblewiski

The Kilmeny Of The Orchard - L. M . Montgomery

The Forest Of Hands And Teeth - Carrie Ryan

Before I Die - Jenny Downham

Emily Of New Moon - L.M.Montgomery

Breakfast At Tiffany's - Truman Capote

If You Could See Me Now - Cecelia Ahern

Snow Falling On Cedars - David Guterson

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

We Were The Mulvaneys - Joyce Carol Oates

Gently Falls The Bakula - Sudha Murthy

Letters From A Father To His Daughter - Jawaharlal Nehru

Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

Lock And Key - Sarah Dessen

Geek High - Piper Banks

Siddhartha - Herman Hesse

The Dogs Of Babel - Carolyn Parkhurst

The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga

Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer

Interpreter Of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri

Space Between Us - Thrity Umrigar

Angels And Demons - Dan Brown

The Boleyn Inheritance - Phillipa Gregory

The Other Boleyn Girl - Phillipa Gregory

My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf

Lady Susan - Jane Austen

The Man - Irving Wallace

My Challenges

2009-06-01T21:09:00.007+05:30

Here's my list of challenges for the year 2009.

Classics Challenge 2009

Centuries Challenge 2009

Fill In The Gaps 100 Project

Buy One Book And Read It Challenge

Books Vs Movies Challenge

Young Adult Books Challenge 2009

Everything Austen Challenge

Book Awards Reading Challenge III

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince

2009-05-30T20:59:00.010+05:30

Potter mania is gripping my house with such rapidity that I find its really difficult to treat it. The cause for this, is the soon to be released Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince movie..This has happened every time a new Harry Potter movie has been released. Books are re read , trailers are watched,discussions are held on the subject as to how much will the movie be able to deliver.

This time my family members went one step ahead and got 'Tales Of Beedle The Bard' and 'Quidditch Through Ages'. "Wow ..What a craze !!! "was my reaction to all this,but was anybody paying any attention to what I was saying. I got smart retorts like 'Do we stop you ,when you sit and watch the reruns of those BBC book adaptations ?' 'Its Harry Potter!!!!Don't you realise di?' I had to back off .Someone has rightly phrased it 'If you can't beat them,join them' and so I did. You won't believe it ,but I read them all again.All 7 books and also Tales Of Beedle The Bard..When I finally put down the Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows I was exhausted.It was as if I had journeyed with the characters ,laughed and cried with them,that too on reading them the second time round.I wondered how did J.K.Rowling manage to do it? "Magic ..."My sis said.She has picked up the reading gene of the family alright but hasn't yet managed to come out of the wonderlands of Narnia , Potter and Hobbit.Why would she when she has a good dose of them everyyear through the movies.

Half Blood Prince was one book that really kept me on the edge while reading first time on .Who was this Half Blood Prince? What was the secret behind Riddle's horcruxes? Why is Ron not able to understand Hermione's feelings?..Loved it and waited till the final one came out to know what exactly was the truth behind the such a cruel climax.

Now...Books and Movies..Nice combo I must say.. The Potter movies may have left off many details we so enjoy in the books yet,they have given us characters whom we can imagine when we read the books.Its only Emma Watson I picturise, when I read of Hemione Gringer giving ready answers and Danielle Radcliffe when I read of Harry entering into Lord Voldemort's mind. Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince movie by the look of the trailers is not picturised to make you appreciate the wonderful landscapes .Look of it says that its gonna be as grim and dark as the book.I always felt that the last 3 books were more dark and less cheerful than the earlier ones.Rightly so as they deal with the rise of Lord Voldemort.

Last movie wasn't exactly a visual pleasure, but then again , as my sis says,Its Harry Potter! You gotta watch it. As the day of release closes on , I know so many of Harry Potter fans would have started reading the books again and wishing, that they get to see most of what they are reading.So what are you waiting for..Get your books out..LET THE MAGIC BEGIN..

Books To Movies

2009-05-25T10:56:00.009+05:30

These days I am gobbling up books like anything..I have these off and on days when I feel the utmost need of reading . The great reviews on so many book blogs have made me pick up books lying on my bookshelf since long time now. One such book is The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. I had it lying around for sometime now but on reading the review on Ramya's blog I promptly picked it up and I am really happy that I did as it is turning out be a real winner..Won't say more till I have completed it.

The other book that I have taken up is the Barbara Taylor Bradford epic 'The Woman Of Substance' .I wouldn't have ventured to try it, had I not seen a trailer of the series which had been telecast as a 3 part TV series long time back .I stumbled upon it on YouTube. The thought of watching the series ,rather then reading the book crossed my mind but then again I knew, it wouldn't be the same. I guess I took the right decision because this way I am able to imagine the characters as I read and understand them rather then having the directors version on watching them.I have had some bad experiences with books that have been televised. I had to reread the book just to get back my taste , which had been spoilt totally by the directors rather crude or insensitive view.

Here's my list of Top 5 books that I loved watching in form of a movie or a TV series:

Gone With The Wind

Though the story was slightly different in the book, loved it for its magnificence and beauty.Characters were so well dramatised that I just fell in love with it all over again.Clark Gable just stole my heart away.

The Joy Luck Club
Simple story of 4 Chinese immigrant women and their daughters, who connect to each other on so many levels is retold in really simple yet heart touching way.

Schindler's List

A personal favourite.Though not a comfort to watch..

Only Love

This Erich Segal book was made into a 2 part movie for Hallmark channel with Marisa Tomei and Rob Morrow. The story of 3 people whose lives take them through tests of love ,making us sit back and think what would you do to save the life of one you love.Would be ready to give up the relationship if that would save them? I cried like a baby on watching this.

Lord Of The Rings

Magnificient ....The visuals are simply out of this world and story simply fabulous..

This is my list do tell me yours..

The Man

2009-05-23T19:35:00.006+05:30

The Man by Irving Wallace is my dad's recommendation. The by line of the book said, " You are cordially invited to the Impeachment Trial of America's First Black President" I was hooked and by the end of the book,was totally floored.

This book published in 1964 , talked about a black president and also a impeachment trial . Looks as if Wallace prophesied future , because a impeachment trial was held for a president 35 years later but for nearly same reasons as depicted in the book..

In 1964 , writing about a black president in a fiction, brought about life threats to the author but today President Obama sits in the White house to prove that Wallace wasn't entirely wrong about America having a black President..

The book is centred around a soft spoken ,well mannered Douglas Dillman who finds himself in the White House due to a series of accidents. Being the President comes with a price. A publicity shunning simple man finds that here, nothing is sacred.The buried skeletons of his past start appearing before him even as he is trying to get the grip of the situation he has landed into. His son who accuses him of being conservative and a run away daughter who is struggling with her own mental demons makes it a more trying task..To top it all,there is a impeachment trial at the heart of the story which makes for a wonderful climax .

Well written characters and a clear understanding of the government workings make this book a great read.

This book was burnt in some states when it was released but went on to become a NYT bestseller. A James Earl Jones movie was based on the book. A short movie though, compared to the size of the book :)

I would definitely recommend this book. Though big in size is still worth the time..

Happy reading..